
(£) The Curtis Publishing Company, from a Copley Print. © Curtib »S: Canierun, Boston \ 

PRISCILLA AND JOHN ALDEN 



REAL STORIES FROM 
OUR HISTORY 



ROMANCE AND ADVENTURE IN 

AUTHENTIC RECORDS OF 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF 

THE UNITED STATES 



BY 



JOHN T. PARIS 

AUTHOR OF "winning THE OREGON COUNTRY" 
"THE ALASKAN PATHFINDER," ETC. 



GINN AND COMPANY 

BOSTON . NEW YORK • CHICAGO • LONDON 
ATLANTA • DALLAS • COLUMBUS • SAN FRANCISCO 



COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY JOHN T. PARIS 
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

216.4 



.3 



! 




tCfte atftengum J^ttii 

GINN AND COMPANY- PRO- 
PRIETORS • BOSTON • U.S.A. 



APR 19 1916 

(Dn A 4 27 7 05 



PREFACE 

In its report to the National Education Association, 
the Committee of Eight on the Study of History in the 
Elementary Schools, appointed by the American Historical 
Society, said, '" Our history teaching in the past has failed 
largely because it has not been picturesque enough." 

The committee also outlined a method by which the 
lacking element could be supplied. Among other things 
this was said, " Only typical events should receive em- 
phasis, and these should be so grasped and so presented 
as to make definite impression." 

Emphasis was laid on "the giving of a sense of reality 
and appealing to the feelings " by "reading source material 
like letters, journals, diaries and other personal accounts 
from the pens of men and women who took part in the 
events they narrate or witnessed the scenes they portray," 
and by the interpretation of these sources. 

In preparing " Real Stories from Our History " the 
author has kept in mind this report which voiced the plea 
made by teachers for books that would give human interest 
to facts that to many seem remote and colorless. 

In many cases the facts in this volume have been drawn 
from original sources. Parts of journals and diaries have 
been presented and interpreted. The effort has been made 
to give vivid pictures of the life of the colonists, to tell stories 
of the pioneers, and to suggest stages in the development 



vi REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

of the country by describing the changing means of trans- 
portation and communication. In most cases the stories 
center about the man or the woman who is vitally con- 
nected with the incidents told. 

The author gratefully acknowledges his indebtedness to 
the following publishers and authors for the use of copy- 
righted material: G. P. Putnam's Sons: "Life and Jour- 
nals of J. J, Audubon " ; Bonsai's " Edward Fitzgerald 
Beale." Charles Scribner's Sons: Bowne's "A Girl's Life 
Eighty Years Ago" ; Scribncrs Magazine: Vaughn's "The 
Thirtieth Anniversary of a Great Invention." The Mac- 
millan Co. : Schafer's " History of the Pacific Northwest" ; 
Johnson's " Old Time Schools and School Books " ; Chan- 
ning and Lansing's " Story of the Great Lakes " ; Spears' 
" Story of the New England Whalers." The Burrows 
Brothers Co. : Wagner's " Adventures of Zenas Leonard." 
Preston and Rounds Co. : Isham and Brown's " Early 
Connecticut Houses." A. C. McClurg & Co. : Houghton's 
Expedition of the Donner Party " ; Bradley's " Story of the 
Pony Express." The A. H. Clark Co. : " Fordham's Per- 
sonal Narrative"; Hulbert's "The Cumberland Road." 
Houghton Mifflin Co. : " Samuel Y . B. Morse, His Letters 
and Journals." The Yale University Press: Farrand's "A 
Journey to Ohio in 1810." The Grafton Press : Buckman's 
"Old Steamboat Days on the Hudson." J. B. Lippin- 
cott Co. : Talbot's "The Railway Conquest of the World." 
Little, Brown, and Co. : Crawford's " Social Life in Old 
New England." Sachse's "The Wayside Inns of the Lan- 
caster Roadside." Henry Holt and Co.: Carter's "When 
Railroads were New." Hurst and Co. : Kennedy's "Won- 
ders and Curiosities of the Railway." 



CONTENTS 



IK 



I. Coming to the Colonies 

II. First Experiences in the New Land 
III. The Houses of the Colonists . . . 
1\'. With the Carolina Explorers . . 
\'. GoiN(; to Church in Early Days 
yi. GoiN(; TO School in Old New En(;lax 
VII. Carried away hy the Indians . . 
\U\. The Beginnings of a Great City 
IX. An Early HoiME near Philadelphia 
X. The Oldest Library in America 
XL A Romance of Colonial Days . . 
Xll. The Heart of an Ei(;hteenth-Century 

XIII. Whale-Fishing in Colonial Days 

XIV. Adventures of an Early Fur Trader 
X\\ When the West was New .... 

X\T. When Louisiana was Bought from Francf. 
X\TI. An English Immigrant's Journey to Illin 

Territory 

XVIII. Glimpses of Western Pioneer Life 

XIX. The Red River Raft 

XX. A Day in the Republic of Texas . 

XXI. On an Old Stage Road 

XXII. A Pioneer Traveler on the Road . 
XXIII. George Washington, Canal Builder 



PAGE 

3 

lO 

'7 
24 
29 

38 
45 
"52 
60 
66 
71 
77 
85 
93 
98 
104 

1 10 
116 
I 21 
127 
134 
141 
147 



viii REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXIV. When the Caxal was in its Glory .... i 54 

XXV. The Great National Road 161 

XXVI. Across the Plains in 1846 169 

I. The Journey 169 

TI. Starving in the Snow 176 

III. Finding a Home 182 

XXVII. The First Bearer of California Gold . . 191 

XXVIII. The Pony Express 196 

XXIX. The Forgotten Camel Corps 201 

XXX. Freighting on the Plains 207 

XXXI. The First Vessel on the Great Lakes . . 213 

XXXII. A Disappointed Inventor 220 

XXXIII. The First Practical Steamboats 229 

XXXIV. Early Steamboat Days on the Great Lakes 236 
XXXV. The First Steamboat on the Ohio .... 242 

XXXVI. Early Railroad Dreamers 250 

XXXVII. Testing Early Steam Locomotives .... 256 

XXXVIII. A Pioneer Railroad 262 

XXXIX. The Building of "Old Ironsides'' .... 269 

XL. Primitive Railroad Contrivances .... 276 

XLI. The First Transcontinental Railroad . . 283 

XLII. The Story of the Telegraph 290 

XLIII. The Marvelous History of the Telephone . 295 

INDEX 303 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Priscilla and John Alden Frontispiece 

The Company of the Pilgrims 4 

Model of the Half Moon, Henry Hudson's Ship 6 

John Winthrop 11 

Indian Village 14 

Cellar-Houses 18 

Primitive Sleeping Quarters 20 

In the Kitchen 21 

A Seventeenth-Century House 22 

A Landing in the Province of Carolina 26 

St. David's Church, Radnor, Pennsylvania 30 

Pilgrims going to Church 33 

Interior of St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia 35 

Old Swedes Church, Philadelphia 36 

An Old Schoolhouse 39 

The Plantation School where Thomas Jefferson learned to Read 41 

Interior of a Colonial Schoolhouse at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania 43 

The Garrison House 46 

The Dustin Memorial 48 

Hannah Dustin's Application for Church Membership .... 49 

Type of William Penn's Ship, Welcome 53 

Penn's Treaty with the Indians 54 

The Old Courthouse, Philadelphia 56 

The Letitia Penn House 57 

An Early Treaty with the Indians 58 

The Home in the Garden of Delight 61 

The Cypress in Bartram's Garden as it was in 1875 63 

William Penn's Desk 68 

Brainerd preaching to the Indians 72 

On the Way to her Marriage 75 



X REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

PAGE 

A Belle of the Colonies 79 

A Sampler done by Clarissa Emerson 81 

The Chase 86 

" Cutting in " a Whale 87 

Abandoned Whaling Ships in the Ice go 

The Whaling Fleet gi 

Interrupted g4 

Lewis and Clark on the Upper Missouri loi 

New Orleans in 1803 105 

The Cabildo, the Spanish Courthouse in New Orleans . . . . 108 

On the Road in Early Days. The Conestoga Wagon . . . . in 

Pioneers on a Flatboat 113 

A Pioneer Gristmill iig 

Tearing away the Raft 123 

General Sam Houston 128 

The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas 130 

At the Philadelphia Terminus 135 

Model of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh Stagecoach 138 

Conestoga Wagon. " Philadelphia to Pittsburgh 20 Days " . . 139 

Crossing the Alleghenies 143 

On the Old Patowmack Canal 148 

Within Sight of Washington 149 

George Washington's Coach 152 

A Packet Boat on the Erie Canal 156 

The Iron Steamboat R. F. Stockton 158 

Mail Coach, Washington to Columbus 163 

One of the Massive Bridges 165 

Pioneers on the Plains 171 

At the End of the Day 1 74 

A Rest by the Way 177 

" Westward the Course of Empire takes its Way " 185 

San Francisco in 1849 193 

A Pony Express Rider on the Lookout for Indians 199 

The Camel Corps in the Desert 203 

Freighting Provisions across the Plains 208 

Part of the Caravan 210 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi 

PAGE 

Niagara Falls 215 

Building of the Griffon 216 

Bowlder and Tablet on the Site of the Griffon Shipyard . . . 218 

Fitch's Steamboat 222 

Fitch's Third Steamboat, i 7S8 226 

Fulton's First Experiment with Paddles, 1779 230 

The Clermont 233 

The Walk-in-the-Water 239 

The New Orleans 243 

Review of Steamers, Pittsburgh, 191 i 247 

Horse-driven Locomotive 251 

Junction of Pennsylvania State Canal and the Railroad .... 253 

Stagecoach on Rails 254 

Canal Barge at the Summit of the Allegheny Portage .... 259 

Old State Portage Railway, crossing Alleghenies 259 

The Tom Thumb 260 

The De Witt Clinton and the First Train in New York State . . 264 

Passenger Station and Hotel in the Allegheny Mountains . . . 266 

"Old Ironsides" 270 

"The Traveler,"' Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 272 

"The York," Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 272 

An Early Transportation Announcement 273 

"John Bull" Locomotive and Train 277 

Freight Car, 1832 278 

The First Train from Baltimore to St. Louis, 1857 279 

" The Atlantic," Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 280 

" The Costell," Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 281 

The Evolution of Transportation in Four Stages 285 

Driving the Last Spike. Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads 287 
Recording Instrument on which the First Telegraphic Message 

was Received 291 

An Early Telephone Switchboard 296 

A Modern Bell-Telephone Switchboard 297 

Salem to Boston 298 

Philadelphia to San Francisco 299 



REAL STORIES FROM 
OUR HISTORY 



lUaUAU>U UX)^UMU/aUAUXXUXl.WAUAUA^^^ 



Somehow a boy about whom we have simply heard does not 
seem very real. We may be told that he lives only a thousand 
miles away, but he seems like a myth, until, perhaps, we have 
a letter from him. Then he seems like a real boy. 

In like manner, it is hard to realize that the first settlers in 
the American Colonies were real people, they lived so long ago. 

But a peep into the diary kept by Captain John Winthrop, one 
of the first settlers, will make him seem as real as the boy a 
thousand miles away when the first letter is received from him. 



:^rnrrr\w^rrnyrnrfriYrnrrr\yYnrrnrrrwr\rfrw^ 



CHAPTER I 

COMING TO THE COLONIES 

Our children and others that were sick, and lay groaning 
in the cabin, we pitched out, and having stretched a rope 
from the steerage to the mainmast, we made them stand, 
some of one side and some of the other, and sway it up 
and down till they were warm, and by this means they 
soon grew well and strong. 

Thus John Winthrop wrote, in his diary, of the 
treatment given to the passengers on the good 
ship Arbella, which sailed with other vessels from 
Southampton, England, on March 22, 1631, bear- 
ing toward the longed-for American home many 
of those who had cast in their fortunes with the 
Company of Massachusetts Bay. 

Of the four ships in the fleet the Arbella was 
the largest. A vessel of three hundred and fifty 



4 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

tons, carrying twenty-eight guns and fifty-two men, 
would not seem large in this day when a steamer of 
ten thousand tons burden, carrying a crew of hun- 
dreds of men, seems small ; but it was a fair-sized 
vessel for the days when the first colonists came. 




THE COMPANY ol 1111: 11 l.i IRIMS 
From a film by Thomas A. Edison, Inc. 

The departure of the fleet was an important 
event. As the vessel approached Yarmouth Castle 
a salute was given and returned, and Captain 
Burleigh, captain of the castle, went aboard the 
Arbella. When he left the vessel the captain of 
the Arbella " gave him four shot out of the fore- 
castle for his farewell." 



COMING TO THE COLONIES 5 

But the twenty-eight guns were not for salutes 
only. Fearing that it might be necessary to fight 
some enemy on the high seas, the men were care- 
fully trained to take their places at the guns. One 
of the first duties of the captain was to learn who 
could be depended on to handle a musket. 

Two days later everybody on board thought that 
the expected enemy was about to attack the Ar- 
bella. Eight sail were sighted, which were thought 
to be Spanish vessels. As Spain was then at war 
with England, the decks were cleared for action, 
and the guns, powder chests, and fireworks were 
made ready. Cabins which were in the way of the 
guns were taken down ; bedding, which might catch 
fire, was thrown overboard, and a ball of wildfire 
fastened to an arrow of a crossbow was sent far 
out on the water, where it burned a long time. 

The women and children were hurried to the 
lower deck, where they would be safe. Not one 
of these showed fear, though "all knew the danger, 
"for," as John Winthrop wrote, "our trust was in 
the Lord of Hosts ; and the courage of our cap- 
tain, and his care and diligence, did much to 
encourage us." 

Yet there was no reason for the warlike prepa- 
rations. When the ships drew near, it was seen 
that they were all friendly vessels. Shots were 



6 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

fired as salutes, and "fear and danger was turned 
into mirth." Thus reHeved, the captain of the Ar- 
bella paused to buy fresh fish of passing fishing 
boats. The Governor and his company wished to 
put off as long as possible the days when the 
ship's company w^ould be dependent on salt meat. 




MODEL OF THE HALF MOON, HENRY HUDSON'S SHIP 



That there was strict discipline on the vessel may 
be seen from an entry in John Winthrop's journal : 

This day two young men falling at odds and fighting, 
contrary to the orders which we had published and set up 
in the ship, were adjudged to walk upon the deck till night 
with their hands bound behind them ; and another man, for 
using contemptuous speeches in our presence, was laid in 
bolts till he submitted himself. 



COMING TO THE COLONIES 7 

The vessels of the fleet managed to keep close 
together, in spite of stormy weather. Sometimes, 
when the sea permitted, the captains would gather 
on one of the ships for a feast, while the women 
and children ate apart in the cabin. In this w^ay 
the monotony of the voyage was broken. 

When more than three weeks had passed, there 
was an unusually stormy Sunday, but the storm 
was not made an excuse for omitting the regu- 
lar services. Two long sermons were preached 
that day. 

Every day or two there was trouble with some 
passenger or member of the crew. Once two lands- 
men broke into a vessel of " strong water," and 
stole some of it ; for this they were put in irons, 
one of them was whipped, and they were fed for 
a day on bread and water. It was thought worth 
noting that not all those on board were trouble- 
some. " We have many young gentlemen in our 
ship, who behave themselves well," was once written 
in the journal. 

As the vessels drew nearer to the new home, 
the Governor was watching for unusual sights. 
He noted the fact that the moon looked much 
smaller than he had ever seen it, that many " fowls " 
were seen flying and swimming, and that the sun 
was not so warm as in England. Because of this 



8 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

last fact he urged that others who might come 
on later vessels should carry warmer clothing 
than the passengers on the Arbella had thought 
necessary. 

Usually the passengers and their servants were 
cheerful and happy, even though they were con- 
fined to narrow quarters and had comparatively 
little to eat. It was necessary to have strict rules 
for the distribution of the food, and those who 
disobeyed had to be punished. One case men- 
tioned is that of a servant who had promised a 
child a small present if the child would give him 
three biscuits a day during the voyage. In this 
way he received about forty biscuits, which he 
sold to other servants. Wlien his action was dis- 
covered, his hands were tied to a bar, a basket 
filled with stones was hung about his neck, and 
he was made to stand thus for two hours. 

Food was so scarce when Cape Cod was near 
that the Arbella was anchored and lines were put 
out. In two hours sixty-seven codfish were taken, 
" near a yard and a half long, and a yard in com- 
pass." " This came very seasonably," the record 
is made, " for our salt fish was now spent, and we 
were taking care for our victuals for this day." 

At Cape Ann most of the people went ashore, 
and came back with many fine strawberries. 



COMING TO THE COLONIES 9 

A few days later the vessel went on to " Mat- 
tachusetts, to find out a place for our sitting 
down." This was found after sailing up Boston 
Harbor and six miles up the Mystic River. 

Other vessels of the fleet arrived a few days 
later. When the Talbot came, it was reported that 
fourteen passengers had died during the voyage. 
The captain of the Success reported that many 
of his passengers "were near starv^ed." But the 
hardships of the long voyage were forgotten when 
men, women, and children left the vessels for a 
new home in the land of their dreams. 

Source. Johx Wixthrop. The History of New England from 
1630 to 1649, Vol. I. Phillips & Farnham, Boston, 1825. 



" 1 



What did the colonists do when they landed ? What did they 
think of the new country ? Were they sorry they had come ? 
How did they stand the severe winter weather ? How did they 
secure needed supplies ? What did they wear, and what did they 
eat ? How did they get along with the Indians ? 



i 



CHAPTER II 

FIRST EXPERIENCES IN THE NEW LAND 

Three weeks after the landing of the Arbella's 
company in Massachusetts, John Wlnthrop wrote 
to his son in England : 

For the country itself, I can discern little difference be- 
tween it and our own. We have had only two days which 
I have observed more hot than in England. Here is as 
good land as I have seen, but none so bad as there. Here 
is sweet air, fair rivers, and plenty of springs, and the water 
better than in England. Here can be no want of anything 
to those who bring means to raise out of the earth and sea. 

In another letter he said: 

We are here in a paradise. Though we have not beef 
and mutton, &c., yet (God be praised) we want them not, 
our Indian Corn answers for all. Yet, here is fowl and 
fish in great plenty. 

In September, after there had been many hard- 
ships, he wrote to his wife : 



EXPERIENCES IN THE NEW LAND ii 



I like so well to be here as I do not repent my coming ; 
and if I were to come again, I would not have altered my 
course, though I had foreseen all these afflictions. I never 
fared better in my life, never slept better, never had more 
content of mind, which comes only by the Lord's good 
hand ; for we have not 
the like means of those 
comforts here, which we 
had in England. 

The colonists soon 
found that there were 
many things they 
lacked, although they 
had tried to foresee all 
pressing needs when 
preparing for their 
voyage. And so, when 
John Winthrop, Jr., 
was planning to come 
out from England, he 
was asked to bring 
certain supplies : 

Bring . . . meal, and peas, and some oatmeal, and sugar, 
fruit, figs, and puffs, and good store of saltpetre, and con- 
serve of red roses and mithridate, good store of pitch, and 
ordinary suet or tallow. Bring none but wine vinegar, and 
not much of that, and be sure that the cask be good ; 
store of oiled calves-skins of the largest ; and the strongest 




JOHN WINTHROP 



12 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

welt-leather shoes and stockings for children ; and hats of 
all sizes. If you could bring two or three hundred sheep- 
skins and lamb-skins with the wool on, dyed red, it would be 
a great commodity here ; and the coarsest woolen cloth . . . 
of sad colors, and some red ; millstones, some two foot and 
some three foot over, with bracings ready cast, and rings 
and pull-bells ; store of shoemaker's thread and hobnails ; 
chalk and chalkline ; and a pair or two, or more, of large, 
steel compasses ; store of coarse linen, and some birdlime. 

Many of these items were in demand because of the 
severe winters, which w^ere a surprise to the colonists. 
On one occasion John Winthrop wrote to his son : 

Winter hath begun early with us. The bay hath been 
frozen all over, but is now open again ; and we had a snow 
last week of much depth in many places. It came with so 
violent a storm, as it put by our lecture for that day. 

A letter dated "Xlth, 22, 1637," and signed 
"JOAV." gives another vivid picture: 

We had letters from Conectacott, where they were shut 
up with snow above a month since, and we at Boston were 
almost ready to break up for want of wood, but that it 
pleased the Lord to open the bay (which was so frozen as 
men went over it in all places,) and mitigate the rigour of 
the season ; blessed be his name. On Friday was fortnight, 
a pinnace was cast away upon Long Island by Natascott, and 
Mr. Babbe and others, who were in her, came home upon 
the ice. We have had one man frozen to death, and some 
others have lost their fingers and toes. 



EXPERIENCES IN THE NEW LAND 13 

Another company of shipwrecked colonists kin- 
dled a fire on a barren shore, " but, having no 
hatchet, they could get little wood, and were forced 
to lie in the open air all night, being extremely 
cold." In the morning they w^ere seen by two 
Indian squaws, who brought their husbands. The 
men took the refugees to their wigwams, minis- 
tered to them, and built a wigwam for their own 
use. When one of the company died as a result 
of the exposure, the Indians hewed a hole in the 
frozen ground, buried the body, and covered it 
with a great heap of wood, to keep it from the 
wolves. 

Other evidences of friendliness on the part of 
the Indians are recorded in the letters. Once 
" Wahginnacut, a sagamore upon the River Quo- 
nehtacut, which lies west of Naragancet, came to 
the governour at Boston, with John Sagamore, 
and Jack Straw and divers of their sannops, and 
brought a letter to the governour from Mr. Ende- 
cott to this effect : That the said Wahginnacut 
was very desirous to have some Englishmen to 
come plant in his country, and offered to find them 
corn and give them yearly eighty skins of beaver, 
and that the country was very fruitful, &:c., and 
wished that there might be two men sent with him 
to see the country." 



14 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 



This invitation was not accepted, for already the 
colonists had reason to suspect treachery. They 
feared the Indians, perhaps many times without 

reason. 

In his jour- 
nal Governor 
\\ inthrop re- 
corded an ad- 
venture which 
revealed this 
fear : 

The govemoLir, 
being at his fine 
house at Mistick, 
walked out after 
supper, and took 
a piece in his 
hand, supposing 
he might see a 
wolf (for they 
came daily about 
the house, and 
killed swine and 
calves, &c. ;) and, 
being about half a mile off, it grew suddenly dark, so as, in 
coming home, he mistook his path, and went till he came to 
a little house of Sagamore John, which stood empty. There 
he stayed, and having a piece of match in his pocket, (for 
he always carried about him match and a compass . . , ) he 




INDIAN VILLAGE 



EXPERIENCES IN THE NEW LAND 15 

made a good fire, . . . but could not sleep. It was (through 
God's mercy) a warm night, but a little before day it began 
to rain, and, having no cloak, he made shift by a long pole 
to climb up into the house. In the morning, there came 
hither an Indian squaw, but perceiving her before he had 
opened the door, he barred her out ; yet she stayed there a 
great while essaying to get in, and at last she went away, 
and he returned safe home, his servants having been much 
perplexed for him, and having walked about, and shot off 
pieces, and hallooed in the night, but he heard them not. 

Dread of the Indians led to the desire for a 
fortified town. On December 6, 1631, "the gov- 
ernoin- and most of the assistants, and others, met 
at Roxbury, and there agreed to build a town for- 
tified upon the neck betw^een that and Boston, 
and a committee was appointed to consider of all 
things rec^uisite, &c." 

On December 14 " the committee met at Rox- 
bury, and upon further consideration, for reasons, 
it was concluded that we could not have a town in 
the place aforesaid : i . Because men would be forced 
to keep two families. 2. There was no running 
water; and if there were any springs, they would 
not suffice the town. 3. The most part of the people 
had l3uilt already, and would not be able to build 
again." " So we agreed to meet at Watertown that 
day sen'night," John Winthrop concluded, "and in 
the meantime other places should be viewed." 



l6 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

On December 21 the company met at Water- 
town, " and there upon view of a place a mile be- 
neath the town, all agreed it a fit place for a 
fortified town, and we took time to consider fur- 
ther about it." 

A tax of ^60 was ordered for the expenses of 
fortifying the new town. But there was difficulty in 
raising the amount. At a public hearing in Boston, 
citizens of Watertown declared that "it was not 
safe to pay money after that sort, for fear of 
bringing themselves and posterity into bondage." 

This objection was speedily answered, the taxes 
were paid, and the work of town building was 
continued. 

Source. John Wixthrop. The Histoty of New England from 
1630 to 1649, "Vol. I. Phillips & Farnham, Boston, 1825. 






Step over the threshold into the homes of some of the early 
colonists, and see how they lived. Of course the first shelters 
were crude, but they were homes, and many who lived in them 
were as happy there as when they were able to replace them 
with fine houses. 



J 



CHAPTER III 
THE HOUSES OF THE COLONISTS 

It is known that many of the first settlers in 
Connecticut, especially the poor people, lived for a 
time in what were called cellars. These were built 
in much the same way as the outside vegetable 
cellars used by farmers to-day. 

When preparing to build a cellar-house, the 
colonist looked for a hillside or a bank of earth, 
and in the side of this dug a shallow pit. The 
excavation in the bank was about seven feet deep 
at the rear, the earth walls sloping to the ground 
level at the front. The next step was to line the 
sides of the excavation with rough stones or with 
logs set upright and close together; these walls 
reached to a height of perhaps seven feet on all 
sides. Thus the earth bank at the rear was as 
high as the walls. Sometimes the earth was banked 
high on the sides also. 

17 



i8 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

The roof was made either of logs, plastered 
with clay, or with bark or thatch on poles. While 
no drawings of such houses are known, it is 
thought from descriptions written at the time 
that the roof was somewhat steep. 

Many of the well-to-do colonists built more 
ambitious houses. Skilled artisans came to the 




CELLAR-HOUSES 



colonies with the first immigrants, and from the 
beginning they had plenty of work. Nicholas Clark 
was one of these early Connecticut builders. He 
constructed a house for John Talcott, of which the 
owner's son wrote as follows : 

The kitchen that now stands on the north side of the 
house that I hve in was the first house that my father 
built in Hartford in Connecticut Colony, and was done . . . 



THE HOUSES OF THE COLONISTS 19 

in the year 1635. My father and mother and his family 
, . . lived first in said Kitchen, which was first on west side 
of chimney. The great barn was built in the year 1636, 
and underpinned in 1637, and was the first barn that was 
raised in the colony. The east side of this house . . . was 
built with the porch that is, in the year 1638, and the 
chimneys were built in 1638 

By "chimneys," the writer probably meant "flues." 
At first there was a wooden chimney, at the end 
of a single room. When the stone chimney was 
built, another room was added against the chimney. 
Later additions made the house a story-and-a-half 
structure, with two rooms on each floor, and a 
lean-to kitchen. 

In most two-story houses the rooms above were 
larger than those below, since the wall of the 
upper story often projected about eighteen inches, 
after the style of houses in which some of the 
colonists had lived in England. Such houses may 
be seen to-day in old sections of Hartford, Boston, 
and Philadelphia. 

These houses w^ere made warm by filling the 
wall spaces with mixed hay and clay. Clapboards 
hewn by the builder's ax were nailed outside this 
protecting mixture. 

A study of the last wills of several of the colo- 
nists reveals curious facts as to the houses. For 



20 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

instance, the will of Thomas Nowell of W^indsor, 
who died in 1648, showed that he was the proud 
owner of a frame house of two stories, for, in 
speaking of the parlor and the kitchen, he men- 
tioned also the " parlor loft," and the " kitchen Lofts 




PRIMITIVE SLEEPING QUARTERS 



and Garrits." The parlor loft contained a bed, 
worth ^5. Evidently this was the best bedroom. 
Another will declared that the house occupied 
by the testator should be divided among the chil- 
dren. This was done, not by selling the building 
and dividing the proceeds, but by actually dividing 
the house ! This was possible because the houses 



THE HOUSES OF THE COLONISTS 



21 



of that day were built to last for centuries, their 
timbers being many times larger than those used 
in houses of similar size to-day. The halves of a 
house thus divided would be placed on separate 
lots. A house in Farmington, Connecticut, built 




IN THE KITCHEN 



between 1650 and 1660, was thus divided; the 
halves were occupied as separate tenements as 
late as 1910. 

The Whitman house, in the same town, built 
probably about 1660, was in use two hundred 
and fifty years later, almost unchanged. Chimney, 
roof, clapboards, and some other parts have been 



2 2 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

renewed, but " otherwise the venerable house is 
in the shape in which the carpenter and the 
mason left it, even to the two flights of stairs 
which ascend from the first floor to the garret, 
and the stone steps from the hall by which you 
may still reach the cellar under the parlor." 




A SEVENTKi'.MH-CKML KV HOUSE 



While the houses built at this period varied in 
size, they did not vary much in plan. The main 
rooms were practically the same in all the houses. 
The great stone chimney was the central feature. 
On one side was the hall, or living room, on the 
other side the parlor, of equal size. At the back 



THE HOUSES OF THE COLONISTS 23 

was the lean-to addition, the kitchen, with its fire- 
place in the side of the chimney. At the front 
was the entry hall, in those days called the porch. 
The stairway w^as against the chimney, which, of 
course, had no opening on that side. 

The Joseph Whiting house, which long stood 
on Main Street in Hartford, near the corner of 
Charter Oak Avenue, had an unusually steep roof, 
under which were the following rooms, as named 
in a document on file at Hartford : On the first 
story were parlor, dwelling room (the hall), kitchen, 
little bedroom. In the second story were the parlor 
chamber, the little chamber, the middle chamber, 
the lean-to chamber, and the kitchen chamber. 
Then there were the garret and the cellar. All 
these rooms except the hall and the parlor were 
added to the original dwelling at a later date. In 
the grounds were the workshop and the " old 
shopp." 

The document gives also the value of this large 
house : " The Mantion House and homestead on 
rood with the barn stable and outhouses ^155." 

Property was not high in those days. 

Source. Norman M. Isham and Albert F. Browx. Early Con- 
necticut Houses. Preston and Rounds Co., Providence, R. I. The illus- 
tration of cellar-houses on page 18 is adapted from this volume. 



}iJJU<UAA^'W^lK>^XK\^'W^lWJMJA^lX\JK^AK^^ 



Hundreds of miles to the south of the land which seemed so 
strange to John Winthrop and his little company, and a little 
after the time of the landing of those early home-seekers, an 
explorer kept his eyes open for marvels. Once he wrote to 
England of "fireflies who carry their lanthoms in their tails." 



:tvrr\yy/-\<Y/'v<yl^^Yr^^rri\Y.^^■Yr\^y,'^Yrr\yr.'-\^ri'Y^^ 



CHAPTER IV 



WITH THE CAROLINA EXPLORERS 

On October i6, 1663, William Hilton sailed 
up " Cape Fair River," as he called it, for a dis- 
tance of one hundred and fifty miles. He said 
of his exploration : 

We found a good tract of land, diy, well-wooded, pleas- 
ant and delightful, as we have seen anywhere in the world, 
with great burthen of grasse on it, the land being ver)^ 
level, with steep banks on both sides the river, and in 
some places very high, the wood stored with abundance of 
deer and turkies everywhere ; we never going on shoar, but 
saw of each, also partridges, great store, cranes abundance, 
conies, which we saw in several places ; we heard several 
wolves howHng in the woods, and saw where they had torn 
a deer in pieces. Also in the river we saw great store of 
duck, teils, widgeon, and in the woods great flocks of 
parrakeetos (a species now almost extinct) ; the timber that 
the woods afford for the most part consisting of oaks of 
four or five sorts, all differing in leaves, but all bearing 
akorns very good ; we measured many of the oaks in several 

24 



WITH THE CAROLINA EXPLORERS 25 

places, which we found to be in bignesse some two, some 
three and others almost four fathoms ; in height, before 
you come to boughs or limbs, forty, fifty, sixty foot, and 
some more. 

In 1666 Robert Horns printed a similar descrip- 
tion of the country, and added a striking appeal for 
immigration : 

Such as are here tormented with much care how to get 
worth to gain a li\'elyhood, or that with their labor can 
hardly get a comfortable subsistence, shall do well to go to 
this place, where any man whatever, that is but willing to 
take moderate pains, may be assured of a most comfortable 
subsistence, and be in a way to raise his fortunes far be- 
yond what he could ever hope for in England. Let no 
man be troubled at the thoughts of being a servant for four 
or five years, for I can assure you that many men give 
money with their children to serve seven years (as appren- 
tices), to take more pain and fare nothing so well as the 
servants in this plantation will do. 

For fear men only would listen to these fer- 
vent appeals, the following was added : 

If any maid or single woman have a desire to go over, 
they will think themselves in the Golden Age, when men 
paid a doury for their wives ; for if they be but civil, and 
under 50 years of age, some honest man or other will 
purchase them for their wives. 

In 1666 Robert Sandford made a vovasre to 
the province of Carolina. When in the vicinity of 



26 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

Bohicket Creek, he left his boat, with a small 
party, in search of the " Towne " of the Indian 
" Casique " ^ of the neighborhood. He told of his 
trip thus : 

Wee crossed one meadowe of not less than a thousand 
acres, all firme, good land and as rich a soyle as any, clothed 



,^^TI 


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A LANDING IN THE PROVINCE OF CAROLINA 



with a fine grasse and not passing knee deepe, but ver}' 
thick sett and fully adorned with }eallow flowers ; a pasture 
not inferior to any I have seen in England, , . . Being 
entered the towne wee were conducted into a large house 
of a circular forme (their general house of state). Right 
against the entrance was a high seate of sufficient breadth 
for half a dozen persons on which sate the Cassique himself 

1 A cacique (modern spelling) was a chief or prince among the Indians. 



WITH THE CAROLINA EXPLORERS 27 

with his wife on his right hand. He was an old man of 
large stature and bone. Round the house from each side 
of the throne quite to the entrance were lower benches 
filled with the whole rabble of men, women and children. 
. . . Capt. Gary and my selfe were placed on the highe 
seats on each side of the Casique, and presented with skins, 
accompanied with their ceremonies of welcome and friend- 
shipp (by stroking their shoulders with their palmes and 
sucking in their breath the whilst). The town is scituate on 
the side or rather in the skirts of a faire forest, in which at 
several distances are diverse fields of maiz with many little 
houses straglingly amongst them. . . . Before the doore of 
their statehouse is a spacious walke rowed with trees on 
both sides, tall and full branched, not much unlike to elms, 
which serves for the exercise and recreation of the men, 
who by couples runn after a marble bowle troled out alter- 
nately by themselves, with six foote staves in their hands, 
which they tosse after the bowle in the race, and according 
to the laying of their staves win or loose the beeds they 
contend for ; an exercise approviable enough in the winter, 
but somewhat too violent (mee thought) for that season and 
noontide of the day. From this walk is another house aside 
from the round house for the children to sport in. 

In 1682 Thomas Ashe wrote woiideringly of 
" great numbers of fire flies, who carry their lant- 
horns in their tails in dark nights, flying through 
the air, shining like sparks of fire, enlightening 
it with their golden spangles." This bit of de- 
scription concluded in an even more startling 



28 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

manner: "Amongst large orange trees in the 
night, I have seen many of these flies, whose 
Hghts have appeared like hanging candles, or 
pendent flambeaus, which amidst the leaves and 
fruit yielded a light truly glorious to behold ; 
with three of these included in a glass bottle, in a 
very dark night, I have read very small characters." 
By descriptions like these the English people 
of the seventeenth century were lured to America. 

Source. Manuscripts, etc.. of the South Carolina Historical Society. 






Think of a church building without a floor, without heat in the 
coldest weather, whose seats had no backs, and whose walls were 
thirty inches thick, because built for defense against the Indians. 
This was the sort of building in which many of the colonists 
worshiped on Sunday. 



rh^MYr\Yrr^y,'^YYn^yr^yrn^Yr\'\rr\^rr^^r\Yr,■-\yr,'■\^l^^ 



CHAPTER V 
GOING TO CHURCH IN EARLY DAYS 

When the first settlers came to America from 
England, they usually tried to secure a church 
building as soon as possible. Frequently they in- 
sisted on having a place in which to worship God 
while their own houses were still incomplete. They 
were often content with primitive buildings, but as 
soon as possible the first structures were replaced. 

These early settlers did not like to have a debt 
resting on the houses in which they- were to wor- 
ship. So, frequently, it was necessary to leave them 
unfinished. St. David's Church, at Radnor, Penn- 
sylvania, begun in 171 5, was long a mere shell. 
The people in the pews could look up to the bare 
rafters which bore the marks of the woodsman's ax. 
For fifty years there was no floor; men and women 
were glad to stand on the bare ground. To-day 

a congregation is proud to worship in this old 

29 



30 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

building, which, except for a few minor features, 
looks nearly as it did almost two hundred years ago. 
Of course there were no stoves in those colonial 
churches. Foot stoves, full of hot embers, were 
carried into the pews by the members of the 



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ST. DAVID'S CHURCH, RADNOR, PENNSYLVANIA 



congregation who could afford the luxury. Those 
who had slaves sent them with the stoves a little 
early. In many places there would be a company 
of these slaves waiting for their masters at the 
church door. When, one by one, the masters 
arrived a slave would separate himself from his 



GOING TO CHURCH IN EARLY DAYS 31 

fellows, precede his master to the pew, arrange the 
foot stove and respectfully retire to a seat in the 
gallery. At the close of the service he would 
return, take up the stove once more and carry it 
home that it might be in readiness for another 
Sunday. At a church in Albany, New^ York, it 
was a common thing to see from fifty to seventy- 
five of these slaves at the church door. It is said 
that at this same church in cold weather the 
men kept their hats on their heads, and protected 
their hands by burying them in muffs. 

The introduction of stoves came slowly. In some 
places the foot stoves were still in use in 1825. 
When iron stoves were admitted to the churches, 
many of the worshipers did not like to give up 
their old ways. In the First Church of Hartford, 
Connecticut, worshipers insisted on bringing foot 
stoves long after the heating stoves were installed. 
Then warning was given that the sexton would 
carry from the building any foot stove found lighted 
after the beginning of service. In Albany, New 
York, heating stoves were placed on platforms 
level with the gallery, and from the gallery bridges 
ran across to the platforms, so that the sexton 
might reach the fires. It is no wonder that there 
was at first a preference for the old method of 
securing heat. 



32 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

The men were often seated on one side of the 
church while the women were across the aisle, 
but in many places it was thought best to have 
entire families sit together. For this purpose pews 
with high backs, each pew as large as a fair-sized 
closet, were provided. Seats were arranged on three 
sides of the interior of the pew. Sometimes the 
seats were hinged and could be lifted up, thus 
giving the worshipers more standing room. The 
fourth side of the pew was devoted to the door. 
In some primitive churches, however, there was 
no such luxury. The seats were plain puncheon, 
without backs. 

At Trinity Church, Wilmington, Delaware, the 
pews were allotted to the heads of families who 
had been most helpful in the work of building, 
the choicest pew to the best giver and worker. 
The occupants not only had a right to the pews 
thus allotted, so long as they lived, but they were 
privileged to sell them, or to bequeath them to 
their children after them. In King's Chapel, Boston, 
the two best pews were reserved for the rector and 
the goxernor. The next best were for " masters of 
vessels," and for the old men of the church. At 
Saybrook, Connecticut, the seats were plain, back- 
less benches, and were assigned "according to rank, 
age, office, and estate." It was thouoht that the 




33 



34 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

backless benches would restrain occupants from 
sleeping. Some wealthy members, not satisfied 
with this arrangement, were given permission to 
build pews at the sides of the pulpit. 

The form of pulpit used in many of these old 
churches was a drum-shaped inclosure, perched on 
a pillar, with a sounding board, like a canopy, above 
it. A winding stair led to the pulpit. On the steps 
the boys were sometimes seated, the top step being 
the coveted position, for its occupant could proudly 
open the door for the minister when he entered 
the pulpit. From this pulpit the minister could 
look down on his entire congregation, while the 
people could see him only by craning their necks. 

It was a problem how to get notices to the 
minister, for it was not always convenient to climb 
the long stairs. In the Dutch Reformed Church 
at Kingston, New York, an ingenious clerk, when 
receiving the notices of funerals, christenings, wed- 
dings, or merrymakings, reached them up to the 
dominie on the end of a bamboo pole. 

The colonists were poor, but they were liberal. 
Until 1795, in the Old Dutch Church at Albany, 
New York, the deacons would take up the collec- 
tion in the midst of the dominie's sermon. They 
used bags at the ends of poles. Bells were attached 
to the bags to arouse any who were sleeping. At 



GOING TO CHURCH IN EARLY DAYS 



35 



Hartford the members of the church were expected 
to march with their gifts to the deacons' table. 

Money was not ahvays at hand ; gifts were then 
made in produce. Christ Church, at Alexandria, 




INTERIOR OF ST. PETER'S CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA 

Virginia, w^as built by the sale of thirty-one thou- 
sand pounds of tobacco. The pastor's salary was 
also paid in tobacco, while the poor of the church 
were supported by fines, paid in tobacco, for such 
offenses as "killing deer out of season," or "hunt- 
ing on the Sabbath." In Kingston, New York, the 
pastor's salary was paid in wheat. 



36 



REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 



Of course the early settlers had to be on their 
guard against Indians on Sunday as well as during 
the week. For this reason the Old North Church 
at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was built on a 
hill. The First Dutch Reformed Church of New 




OLD SWEDES CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA 



York was built within the fort. In Schenectady a 
gallery was built solely for the use of those who 
watched for the Indians. Center Church, New 
Haven, had a turret, in which stood a sentinel every 
Sunday ; armed guards were stationed near at hand 
on the road. Two cannons w^ere charged before 



GOING TO CHURCH IN EARLY DAYS 37 

each service. At Dover, New Hampshire, log forti- 
fications surrounded the meetinghouse. Traces of 
the earth embankments, raised for additional pro- 
tection, are still to be seen. A drum was beaten to 
call the people to church, for fear the sound of a 
bell would tell the Indians that the people were 
absent from home. At Tarrytown, New York, the 
v.alls of Pocantico Church were thirty inches 
thick, to resist Indian attacks, while the church 
at Herkimer, New York, was buttressed for the 
same reason. 

So well were these seventeenth-century churches 
constructed that a few of them are still in use. 
The Old Swedes Church, in Philadelphia, built in 
1697, is occupied regularly. The Old Ship Church 
at Hingham, Massachusetts, though finished in 
16S2, is as stanch as ever and bids fair to last 
another century. No such buildings are erected 
to-day. While men have improved on some of the 
primitive methods of their forefathers, they do not 
seem to have learned to build for the centuries. 

Sotiire. Nellie Urner Wallington. Historic Churches of 
America. Duffield & Co., New York. 






I 



First the church, then the school. Furniture was primitive, 
books were few, and every boy and girl had to pay tuition. 
Masters were stern and boys were whipped every day. And not 
even the wealthiest parent in the town was allowed to find fault 
with the master. 



CHAPTER VI 
GOING TO SCHOOL IN OLD NEW ENGLAND 

The boys of New England had a chance to go 
to school about as soon as they could go to church. 
Indeed, they were given more than a chance; they 
were compelled to attend under severe penalty for 
failure. Their parents had to pay the penalty, and 
in many cases they had to pay the tuition of the 
truants, too ; for this was the rule adopted by one 
town meeting, " Boys from six to twelve years of 
age shall pay the Schoolmaster, whether they go to 
school or not, four pence a week for Wrighters, 
and three pence a week for Readers." 

The schoolhouse to which the " Readers and 
Wrighters " found their way for the few months in 
each winter when the teacher was provided, can- 
not have been unlike the little one-room district 
schoolhouse still common in many parts of the 
country. The primitive schoolhouse " was usually a 

38 



SCHOOLS IN OLD NEW ENGLAND 



39 



small, one-room building which was entered through 
a shed-like hallway in which wood was piled 
and wdiere hats, coats, and dinner-pails were also 
stored," says the author of " Social Life in Old New 
England." " Sometimes wood was furnished by the 
parents, the child of a stingy father being then, by 




AN OLD SCHOOLHOUSE 



common consent, denied intimate relations with 
the fire. After the time of fireplaces a large square 
stove in the center of the room w^as the usual 
method of heating. From this a long pipe, sus- 
pended by chains, reached to the end of the 
building, where the chimney stood. Frequently 
the primitive heating-plant had to cope w'ith the 



40 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

problem of raising the temperature from twelve 
below zero, when school opened, to a temperature 
favorable to ' wrighting.' " 

In Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1643, i^ ^^'^^ 
ordered that on summer days school should be in 
session from seven in the morning until five in 
the afternoon. In the winter the time was re- 
duced one hour in the morning and one hour in 
the afternoon. The noon recess lasted two hours, 
from eleven to one, five days in the week. On 
Monday, for school kept six days in the week, 
there was another program. The town selectmen 
told what was to be done during these two hours 
on Monday: 

The master shall call the scholars together between twelve 
and one of the clock to examine them what they have 
learned, at which time also he shall take notice of any mis- 
demeanor or outrage that any of his scholars shall have com- 
mitted on the sabbath, to the end that at some convenient 
time his admonition and correction may be administered. 

He shall diligently instruct both in lessons and good liter- 
ature, and likewise in point of good manners and dutiful 
behavior towards all, especially their superiors. Every day 
of the week at two of the clock in the afternoon, he shall 
catechize his scholars in the principles of the Christian 
religion. 

He shall faithfully do his best to benefit his scholars, and 
not remain away from school unless necessary. He shall 



SCHOOLS IN OLD NEW ENGLAND 



41 



equally and impartially teach such as are placed in his gare, 
no matter whether their parents be poor or rich. 

It is to be chief part of the schoolmaster's religious care to 
commend his scholars and his labors amongst them unto God 
by prayer morning and evening, taking care that his scholars 
do reverently attend 
during the same. 

The rod of cor- 
rection is a rule of 
God necessar)' some- 
times to be used 
upon children. The 
schoolmaster shall 
have full power to 
punish any or all of 
his scholars, no mat- 
ter who they are. 
No parent or other 
person living in the 
place shall go about 
to hinder the master 
in this. But if any 
parent or others 
shall think there is 
just cause of com- 
plaint against the master for too much severity, they shall 
have liberty to tell him so in friendly and loving way. 

The school in \\hich these rules were observed 
was perhaps the first public school in America 
supported by general taxation. In 1637, ^vhen the 




THE PI \N I \ IK L\ M III H M WIIIKI lll<i,\iA.- 
JKl'FEKSON LEAKNKU TO READ 



42 REAL STORIES FROAI OUR HISTORY 

town was less than two years old, arrangements 
were made to build a meetinghouse. Seven years 
later, in 1644, a school was arranged for, the vote 
of the town being as follows : 

The said inhabitants, taking into consideration the great 
necessitie of providing some means for the Education of 
the youth in our s'd Tovvne, did with an unanimous con- 
sent declare by voate their wiUingness to promote that 
worke, promising to put too their hands, to provide mainte- 
nance for a Free School in our said towne. 

And further did resolve and consent, testifying it by 
voate, to rayse the summe of Twenty pounds pr annu 
towards the maintaining of a School Mr. to keep a free 
School in our s'd towne. 

And also did resolve and consent to betrust the s'd 20 
pound pr annu & certain lands in our town previously set 
apart for pubhque use, into the hand of Feoffes to be per- 
sonally chosen by themselves, to supply the s'd 20 pounds 
and the land afores'd to be improved for the use of the 
said School : that as the profits shall arise from y^ s'd land, 
every man may be proportionately abated of his share of 
the s'd 20 pounds aforesaid, freely to be given to y^ use 
aforesaid. 

Five years later the fathers decided that their 
children must not qto to school anv longer in the 
church building; they would build a schoolhouse 
for them. So the schoolhouse was made ready, a 
building fourteen feet long, with a great chimney 
four feet deep at one end, and fifteen feet wide. 



SCHOOLS IN OLD NEW ENGLAND 



43 



Against the rear end of the chimney was to be a 
lean-to watch-house, six feet wide. In this watch- 
house a sentinel was always to be on guard at 
night, lest the town be surprised by Indians. 

In the early schools little children learned the 
alphabet from a hornbook, which is described as 




INTERIOR OF A COLONIAL SCHOOLHOUSE AT VALLEY FORGE, 
PENNSYLVANIA 

"' a rough piece of paper fastened on a slab of 
wood and covered with a transparent sheet of 
horn." As early as 1691 the hornbook was dis- 
placed by the famous " New England Primer." 

Unfortunately, girls were not admitted to the 
privileges of these early public schools. Many 
schools were not open to them until toward the 
close of the seventeenth century. 



44 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

Even the bovs in many districts found little 
opportunity to go to school. Their school was in 
the open air, where hard work was to be done. 
" They spent most of their time in the fields and 
the forests and along the rivers and the sea, hunt- 
ing bears and deer, trapping foxes, shooting wild 
turkey, wild geese and wild ducks; or fishing, 
riding, driving, swimming, rowing and sailing; or 
at work with those who were laying out roads 
through the woods, digging wells and ditches, mak- 
ing walls and fences, assisting in building houses, 
barns, fortifications, churches, boats ; laying out 
and cultivating gardens and planting orchards. 
They thus became hardened to the climate, and 
gained good constitutions, and moreover became 
acquainted with natural objects — rocks and soils; 
animals wild and tame ; the trees and shrubs of 
the woods and the fiowers and herbs of the 
garden and the fields." 

Sources. Marv Caroline Crawford. Social Life in Old New 
England. Little, Brown, and Company, Boston. 

Clifton Johnson, Old Time Schools and School Books. The 
Macmillan Company, New York. 

George B. Emersox. Education in Massachusetts (Chapter XIII 
in " Massachusetts and its Early History." Lowell Institute Lectures, 
published by the Society). 






While Thomas Dustin, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, was build- 
ing his second house, he was attacked by hostile Indians. The 
tragic story of the capture of his wife, of her trying experience 
in captivity, and of her escape from the red men, is one of the 
thrilling tales of the early days. 



:f/>o<AYy/^rrAYYnY)rYrYn>Y^Wla^r,^Yy^^ 



CHAPTER VII 

CARRIED AWAY BY THE INDIANS 

When Thomas and Hannah Dustin were mar- 
ried in 1677, they built, near Haverhill, Massa- 
chusetts, and not far from the left bank of the 
Merrimack River, a little house of imported brick. 
The house has disappeared, but frequently a visitor 
to the spot uncovers one of the bricks and marvels 
at the building material brought across the sea. 

Later Thomas Dustin found deposits of clay 
near his home which led him to make experi- 
ments in brickmaking. He was so successful that 
his product was in demand ; villagers said that 
the Haverhill bricks were fully as good as those 
brought from England. 

Strong building material was needed, for hostile 
Indians were continually making attacks on the 
villagers. To afford protection against the savages, 
Mr. Dustin began to build a new house. As this 

45 



46 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 



house is still standing, it is possible to tell of its 
construction. A Haverhill resident says that " white 
oak, which is to-day well preserved, was used in 
its massive framework, and the floor and roof 

timbers are put to- 
gether with great 
wooden pins. In 
early days the win- 
dows swung outward, 
and the glass was 
very thick, and set 
into the frames with 
lead." 

On March 15, 1697, 
Mr. Dustin was at 
some distance from 
the old house, cut- 
ting wood. All his 
children except the 
youngest, a baby, 
were playing near 
by. Suddenly there was a war whoop. A company 
of Indians in war paint, brandishing tomahawks, 
burst from the forest. Gathering his children about 
him, Mr. Dustin started with them for the old 
house, to save his wife and baby. But he was 
too late. Another party of Indians had killed the 




THE GARRISON HOUSE 



CARRIED AWAY BY THE INDIANS 47 

baby, and had carried away Mrs. Dustin and the 
nurse into the forest. 

During the fifteen-day journey of one hundred 
and fifty miles to the stronghold of the Indians in 
the wilderness between the Contoocook and Merri- 
mack rivers, the captives endured untold hardships. 
Mrs. Dustin had but one shoe, and neither woman 
was clad for the journey. Snow and ice had not 
yet entirely disappeared, and the exposure was 
trying. At night they were closely guarded by two 
watchful Indians, so that the longed-for opportunity 
to escape did not present itself. 

When they reached what is now known as 
Dustin Island, they found other captives there — 
two men, one woman, and seven children. There 
was also a boy, Samuel Leonardson, who had been 
captured a year before at Worcester, Massachusetts. 

During the last day's march they learned from 
the conversation of their captors that when they 
arrived at the permanent camp they were to be 
stripped, scourged, and made to run the gauntlet. 
Through two files of Indians, of both sexes and 
all ages, they would have to go, being beaten 
by each Indian as they passed. But the day of 
the execution of their sentence was postponed. 
Mrs. Dustin determined that she w^ould not be 
there at the a})pointed time, but would escape the 



48 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 



indignity or die in the attempt. For five weeks 
she watched for her chance. The boy Samuel prom- 
ised to help her. At her suggestion he learned 

from one of the 
Indians how to 
scalp a man. 

At last the day 
came when the 
attempt to escape 
was to be made. 
Thinking that es- 
cape was impos- 
sible, the Indians 
let the prisoners 
sleep unguarded, 
for they did not 
know that provi- 
sions and a canoe 
had been hidden 
in readiness. 

In the silence 
of the night Mrs. 
Dustin, her nurse, and the boy stole on the Indians 
and succeeded in killing ten of them. One old 
squaw and a boy of eleven escaped. After Mrs. 
Dustin and her companions had reached their 
canoe, she went back and scalped the Indians, that 





m 


. 


m 


4h-, ; .,',:'-• ~.\>. 


L 


' ''^■■•; 




Bn^k.^ 






r 


k 


BRriti/i'AsoujTj'H 


iiMs^^^'"--^^m 




f- d 




■PT."" 




■ "^^^^Jl 


m ■ 




; 



THb: DUSTIN MEMORIAL 



CARRIED AWAY BY THE INDIANS 49 

she might claim the bounty offered by the colony 
for such trophies. Then they scuttled the Indians' 
canoes and started down the river. 

Day after day they paddled down the Merri- 
mack, the three taking turns at the paddle. At 
night they paused to rest, and cautiously a fire 



y:,^ hi. iM-L n4,'i l<,.t^C»^n}^ cmtk^ It-^r^ mux J^-.i 17 ^^ 9-e.^<^ /Im^ e^-^ 



HANNAH DUSTIN'S APPLICATION FOR CHURCH MEMBERSHIP, IN 
WHICH REFERENCE IS MADE TO HER CAPTIVITY 

was kindled, that food might be cooked. They 
were in constant fear of pursuit. While two slept 
a third stood guard. But no Indians appeared. 

After many hardships they came to the home 
village. The wondering people, who had thought 
they should never see the captives again, came 
out to see who the visitors could be. But, instead 



50 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

of strangers, they found their own old neighbors, 
and their hearts were glad. 

The General Assembly of Massachusetts voted 
to give Mrs. Dustin a reward of twenty-five pounds, 
while a similar amount was divided between Mrs. 
Neff and the boy Samuel. Later the Governor 
of Maryland sent Mrs. Dustin a silver tankard, 
which is still treasured by her descendants. 

Some time after Mrs. Dustin's return the family 
moved into the strong new house. This was 
made a garrison by order of the committee of the 
militia, organized by the alarmed villagers. The 
order, which was dated April 5, 1697, "^^'^s as 
follows : 

To Thomas Dustin, upon the settlement of garrisons. 
You being appointed master of the garrison at your house, 
you are hereby in His Majesty's name required to see that 
a good watch is kept at your garrison both by night and by 
day by those persons hereinafter named, who are to be 
under your command and inspection in building or repairing 
your garrison ; and if any persons refuse or neglect this 
duty, you are accordingly required to make return of the 
same under your hand to the committee of the militia in 
Haverhill. 

The garrison was completed by men w^ho worked 
under guard. The Indians were so bold that a 
file of soldiers had to be detailed to protect those 



CARRIED AWAY BY THE INDIAxNS 51 

who brought the clay from the pits to the yard, 
where it was made into bricks. 

Sources. Robert B. Caverlv. Heroism of Hannah Dustin. B. B. 
Russell, Boston. 

Hannah Dustin Papers (furnished by George F. Bosworth, descend- 
ant of Hannah Dustin. Montpelier, Vermont). 



:j ^J^WvaUJWaUUWJaWA^W>kAU^ 



i 



Not all the Indians were hostile. " The Indian and the English 
must live in Love, as long as the Sun gives light " ; thus it was de- 
cided by William Penn and the Indians with whom he made the 
treaty that secured for him the land on which the city of Phila- 
delphia was built. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE BEGINNINGS OF A GREAT CITY 

Of all the many Places I have seen in the World, I re- 
member not one better seated ; so that it seems to me to 
have been appointed for a Town. 

This was the judgment concerning the new town 
of Philadelphia, expressed by William Penn to 
those interested financially in the venture. The 
message may be read in full in the quaint book 
entitled : " A Letter from William Penn, Proprie- 
tary and Governour of Pennsylvania in America, 
to the Committee of the Free Society of Traders 
of that Province, residing in London. Containing 
a General Description of the said Province, its 
Soil, Air, Water, Seasons and Produce, both Nat- 
ural and Artificial, and the good Encrease thereof. 
Of the Natives or Aborigines, their language, 
Customs and Manners, Diet, Houses or Wigwams, 

Liberality, easie way of Living, Physick, Burial, 

52 



THE BEGINNINGS OF A GREAT CITY 53 



Religion, Sacrifices and Caiitico, Festivals, Govern- 
ment, and their order in Council upon Treaties for 
Land, &c. and their Justice upon Evil Doers. To 
which is added, An Account of the City of Phila- 
delphia, Newly laid out. Its Scituation between two 
Navigable Rivers, 
Delaware and 
Skulkill, with a 
Portraiture and 
Plat-form thereof. 
Sold by Andrew 
Sowle, at the 
Crooked- Billet in 
Holloway-Lane in 
Shoreditch,and at 
several Stationers 
in London, 1683." 

Those ^^'ho have 
the opportunity 
of reading this 
curious document are able to put themselves in 
the place of the staid Englishmen who sought in- 
formation about the strange land beyond the sea. 
The writer regaled them witli information that 
must have seemed somewhat startling. 

Writers of prospectuses in these late days would 
read with disdain the proprietor's introductory 




TYPE OF WILLIAM PEXX'S SHIP, WELCOME 
From a contemporary engraving 



54 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

words concerning his province of Pennsylvania: 
" The Country itself in its Soyle, Air, W' ater, 
Seasons and Produce both natural and artificial 
is not to be despised." Later, however, he be- 
came almost enthusiastic when writing of the 




PENN'S TREATY WITH THE INDIANS 



natural beauty of the country. " The Woods are 
adorned with lovely Flowers, for color, greatness, 
perfume and variety. I have seen the Gardens 
of London best stored with that sort of Beauty, 
but think they may be improved by our woods. 
I have sent a few to a Person of Quality this 
year for tryal." 



THE BEGINNINGS OF A GREAT CITY 55 

Of the Indians he wrote rather full}-. His de- 
scriptions of their ways show how easy it was to 
deal with them till they learned that the white 
man could be treacherous. 

One paragraph reads: 

If an European comes to see them or calls for Lodging 
at their House or Wigwam, they give him the best place 
and first cut. If they come to visit us they salute us with 
an ItaJi which is as much as to say, Good be to you, and 
set them down, which is mostly on the Ground close to 
their Heels, their Legs upright ; may be they speak not a 
word more, but observe all Passages : If you give them any- 
thing to eat or drink, well, for they will not ask ; and be it 
little or much, if it be with Kindness, they are well pleased, 
else they will go away sullen, but say nothing. 

Here is another statement : 

In Liberality they excell, nothing is too good for their 
friend ; give them a fine Gun, Coat, or other thing, it may 
pass twenty hands, before it sticks ; light of Heart, strong 
Affections, but soon spent ; the most merry Creatures that 
live. Feast and Dance perpetually ; they never have much, 
nor want much. Wealth circulateth like the Blood, all 
parts partake, and though none shall want what another hath 
yet exact Observers of Property. Some Kings have sold, 
others presented me with several Parcels of Land ; the Pay 
or Presents I made them, were not hoarded by the partic- 
ular Owners, but the neighbouring Kings and their Clans 
bring present, when the Goods were brought out, the parties 
chiefly concerned consulted, what and to whom they should 



56 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

give them : To every King then, by the hands of a Person 
for that work appointed, is a proportionment so sorted and 
folded, and w^ith that Gravity, that is admirable. Then that 
King sub-divideth it in like manner among his Dependents, 
they hardly leaving themselves an Equal share with one of 
their Subjects ; and be it on such occasions, at Festivals, or 




THE OLD COURTHOUSE, PHILADELPHIA, BUILT IN 1707 

at their common Meals, the Kings distribute, and to them- 
selves last. They care for little, because they want but little ; 
and the Reason is, a little contents them : In this they are 
sufficiently revenged on us ; if they are ignorant of our 
Pleasures, they are also free from our Pains. 

Concerning a council for treaty-making, Penn 
wrote : 

Their Order is thus : The King sits in the middle of a 
half Moon, and hath his Council, the old and Wise on each 



THE BEGINNINGS OF A GREAT CITY 



57 



hand. Behind them, or at a httle distance, sit the younger 
Fry, in the same figure. Having consulted and resolved 
their business, the King ordered one of them to speak to 
me ; he stood up, came to me, and in the Name of his King 
saluted me, then took me by the hand and told me, that he 
was ordered by his King to speak to me, and that now it 







r'2piKTi r 
if ~ 



<^ * 






.^^^V/jal, 




THE LETITIA PENN HOUSE 
Now in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia 



was not he, but the King that spoke, because what he should 
say, was the King's mind. . . . Having thus introduced his 
matter, he fell to the Bounds of the Land they had agreed 
to dispose of and the Price, (which now is little and dear, 
that v^'hich would have bought twenty Miles, not buying 
now two). . . . When the Purchase was agreed, great Prom- 
ises past between us of Kindness and good Neighbour- 
hood, and that the Indians and P^nglish must live in Love, 
so lono; as the Sun rave litrht Which done, another made 






H I ^^ 'fLr^ Xl,»,^ Y'^^ ^"^ "^ ^^ '--y^-4 











^'^A^^^ 



v)^/i/^^J^ 









4azm/a: 



tol*— 






AX KARI.V TRE.ATV WITH THE IXDIAXS 



>S 



THE BEGINNINGS OF A GREAT CITY 59 

a Speech to the Indians, in the Name of all the Kings, 
first to tell them what was done ; next, to charge and com- 
mand them to Love the Christians and particularly live in 
Peace with me, and the People under my Government: That 
many Governours had been in the Ri\cr, but that no (iov- 
ernour had come himself to live and stay here before ; and 
having now such a one that had treated them well, they 
should never do him or his an)- wrong. 

Penn pointed with pride to the record of the city 
built on part of the ground thus bought from the 
Indians. He wrote: "It is advanced within less 
than a year to about Four score Houses and Cot- 
tages, such as they are, where Merchants and 
Handicrafts are following their vocations as fast 
as they can, while the Country-Men are close at 
their farms." 

In conclusion he gave this message: "I bless 
God, I am fully satisfied with the Country and 
Entertainment I can get in it ; for I find that 
peculiar content which hath ahvaves attended me, 
where God in his Pro\'idence hath made it my 
place and service to reside." 

Source. A Letter from William I'enn, Proprietary and Governour 
of Pennsylvania in America. Andrew Sowle, London, i 683 ; reprinted 
by James Coleman, London, 1881. 






1 

I 



Shall we enter the house of one who lived, with his wife, near 
old Philadelphia, in the midst of " a garden of delight," of which 
he dreamed when he was still a boy? That garden and that 
house may be seen to-day on the banks of the Schuylkill, within 
three miles of the center of the city. 



CHAPTER IX 

AN EARLY HOME NEAR PHILADELPHIA 

There is still standing, now within the city of 
Philadelphia, a house built in 1731 by John Bar- 
tram, who was born in 1699. When a boy, he 
dreamed of building a home which should be set 
in the midst of a garden of delight. As he plowed 
his fields and mowed his meadows he pictured to 
himself what his garden would be like. And 
when he became a man he found the way to 
begin the work. 

First he built a large house. Next he hewed 
out of stone a great watering trough, and made 
a wonderful cider mill in a ledge of rock on the 
bank of the Schuylkill. Then he was ready to 
plant his garden. 

But this colonial dreamer was not content to 
have a garden like those of his neighbors. He 

wanted a garden that would be a pleasure to him, 

60 



AN EARLY HOME NEAR PHILADELPHIA 6i 

and a wonder to all who should see it. He 
wished to bring to it curious plants and trees 
from all parts of the world. 

If he had told his neighbors of his plans, they 
\\ould probably have laughed at him. But he did 




THE HOME IN THE GARDEN OF DELIGHT 



not talk of what he intended to do. As he had 
not gone to school much, he did not know many 
things which would be necessary in his work. So 
he studied at home, teaching himself Latin and 
Greek, as well as more ordinary subjects. It was 
hard to study alone, but he persevered. 



62 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

First he wished to get plants from other parts 
of America. As the only way to do this was to 
go after them, he decided to give a part of each 
year to journeys far from home. He knew that it 
would be dangerous to travel through the mountains 
and the wilderness, l3ut he was not afraid. He went 
as far north as Lake Ontario and as far south as 
Florida. Many times he narrowly escaped death by 
exposure or at the hands of Indians. Yet always 
he took home with him some precious specimen of 
tree or shrub or plant. 

Soon his garden became famous throughout the 
colonies. The king of England heard of him, and 
asked him to send to England word of his explora- 
tions and samples of the plants found. 

In 1769 a man from England visited him at his 
Philadelphia home. After looking in amazement at 
the five acres of garden, the visitor asked him how 
he learned to love botany. This was the answer: 

One day I was very busy in holding my plow (for thou 
seest I am but a plowman), and being weary I ran under 
the shade of a tree to refresh myself. I cast my eye on a 
daisy. I plucked it mechanically, and viewed it with more 
curiosity than common country farmers are wont to do, and 
observed therein very many distinct parts — some perpendic- 
ular, some horizontal. "What a shame," said my mind, or 
something that inspired my mind, ' " that thou shouldst have 



AN EARLY HOME NEAR PHILADELPHIA 6; 



employed so many years in tilling the earth and destroying 
so many flowers and plants, without being acquainted with 
their structure and their uses." I returned to my team, but 
this new desire did 
not quit my mind ; 
I mentioned it to 
my wife, who greatly 
discouraged me. I 
thought about it con- 
tinually — at supper, 
in bed, and wher- 
ever I went. At 
last I could not 
resist the impulse ; 
for on the fourth 
day of the follow- 
ing week, I hired a 
man to plow for me, 
and went to Phila- 
delphia. Though I 
knew not what book 
to call for, I told 
the bookseller my 
errand, who pro- 
vided me with what 
he thought best, and 
a Latin grammar 

beside. Next I applied to a neighboring schoolmaster who, 
in three months, taught me Latin enough to understand 
Linnaeus, which I purchased afterward. Then I began to 
botanize all over m\' farm. In a little while I became 




THE CYPRESS IN BARTRAM'S GARDEN 
AS IT WAS IN 1875 



64 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

acquainted with every vegetable that grew in my neighbor- 
hood, and next ventured into Maryland, In proportion as I 
thought myself more learned, I proceeded forth and by a 
steady application of several years, I have acquired a pretty 
general knowledge of every tree and plant to be found in 
our continent. In process of time I was applied to from the 
old countries whither I every year send many collections, 

Bartram's garden was one of the wonders of 
colonial days. There Washington and Franklin 
and Jefferson used to go for rest and refreshment, 
and there tens of thousands of others have had 
that intimate communion with nature which the 
proprietor of the garden made possible for them 
by his years of loving toil. 

Wheii he was dying, he feared that his garden 
would be laid waste by the British army, which 
was advancing from the Brandywine. But he did 
not live to see the soldiers. He died, September 
2 2, 1777, before they reached Philadelphia. When 
the soldiers finally came and saw the garden, they 
passed it by, leaving it unharmed. 

To-day the garden is a park belonging to the 
city of Philadelphia. Many of the trees have 
perished. One relic of the past still stands, the 
great trunk of a cypress planted about 1735. On 
one of his trips into Delaware the botanist pro- 
cured the cypress slip, which he carried home in 



AN EARLY HOME NEAR PHILADELPHIA 65 

his saddlebags. It grew to be one hundred and 
fifty feet high and twenty.-seven feet in circum- 
ference. In 1899 it still bore a few live twigs. 
Now the dead trunk, surrounded by an iron rail- 
ing to protect it from vandals, is all that is left. 

Yet many of the trees and shrubs planted by the 
colonial botanist are still green. Above the house 
waves a jujube tree, planted in 1735, and over the 
arbor hangs a trumpet vine which was sent from 
North Carolina in 1749. 

Sources. William Darlixcton. Memorials of John Bartram. 
Lindsay and Blackiston, Philadelphia, 1849. 

John Bartram. Issued by the John Bartram Association, Philadelphia. 



.i uv^WJW^'^^uxxuv<UA^-K^'^^>\JWJJ^ 



What should you think of paying a basket of wheat as the 
membership fee in a library ? At one time this was the appointed 
fee for those who used the oldest library in America, the Library 
Company of Philadelphia. On the shelves of this library may be 
found many of the diaries and other volumes quoted in this book. 



irx<Yri^nxyr^frrr<Yrwr^^rn^^r\^rr\\rr\Yrrwrrwrr^^ 



CHAPTER X 
THE OLDEST LIBRARY IN AMERICA 

One of the interesting things mentioned by 
Benjamin Frankhn in his autobiography is a meet- 
ing of the Junto, a ckib of which he was a mem- 
ber. It was decided that the ckib should have a 
hbrary, and each member was to bring a number 
of books for the purpose. 

The plan did not work \'ery well, and after a 
year Franklin proposed a subscription librar\' in- 
stead. On July I, 1 731, one hundred members 
formed the first American subscription library. 

The list of books ordered from London in 1732 
would not attract many readers to-day. There was 
not one book that a child would care to read. 
The day of attractive books for children was yet 
far distant. 

The volumes were taken to the home of one 
of the members in Pewter Platter Alley, Soon 

66 



THE OLDEST LIBRARY IN AMERICA 67 

afterwards this record was made in the minute 
book of the new hbrar\- : 

Louis Tiniothee was contracted with to be Librarian. 
The order was made that Mr. Timothee's term of office 
should be for three months, that he should receive for the 
use and care of the room and for his services " Three 
Pounds " lawful money certain, and such a further allowance 
as then after such time of experience shall by the parties 
here be thought and concluded to be a reasonable reward. 

When Mr. Timothee's term expired, Benjamin 
Franklin became librarian for a like term and at 
the same salary. 

On December 11, 1732, " B. Franklin was asked 
what his charge was for printing a catalogue . . . 
for each subscriber, and his answer was that he 
designed them for presents, and should make no 
charge for them." 

In January, 1738, John Penn wrote to the 
Library Company offering to send " an air-pump, 
with some other things to shew the nature and 
power of the air." It was "ordered that B. Franklin 
get a frame and case made, with glass lights in the 
door, to receive and preserve the air-pump with its 
appendages, and to look ornamental in the Library 
room." This case still stands in the library, with 
the remains of the air pump in it, a rare specimen 
of the hand carving and woodwork of the period. 



68 REAL STORIES EROM OUR HISTORY 



In 1740 the "books and air-pump" were re- 
moved to the " upper room of the westernmost 
office of the State House" (now known as Inde- 
pendence Hall). The monthly meetings of the di- 
rectors were held 
first at the home 
of the Widow 
Roberts, then, suc- 
cessively, with the 
Widow Breitnals, 
the Widow Pratt, 
and the Widow 
Biddle. 

In 1773 the li- 
brary was moved 
from the State 
House to quar- 
ters in Carpen- 
ter's Hall. A few 
months later, when 
Congress was in 
session in the 
State House, the 
librarian was directed to permit the members to bor- 
row books. In 1 79 1 also this courtesy was shown to 
Congress, then meeting in the city, a letter of thanks 
for the service being sent by George Washington. 




WILLIAM PENN'S DESK 



THE OLDEST LIBRARY IN AMERICA 69 

When the British were in Philadelphia officers 
borrowed the books, always leaving the required 
deposit. 

In 1777, when the library's quarters were used by 
the British as a hospital, the secretary was ordered 
to insert this advertisement in the Peuusylvania 
Gazette : 

The members of the Library Company of Philadelphia 
are hereby notified that books may be procured from the 
said Library by application at the house of the Librarian on 
the south side of Market Street, four doors below Fourth 
Street, between the hours of five and seven in the afternoon 
of every day, and leaving a signed note for such books as 
they may respectively want. The lower part of the Library 
being at present used as an infirmary for the sick soldiery, 
renders it inconvenient for the Librarian to attend at the 
Library Room as usual. 

Two minutes entered in the record book during 
the war give hints of the poverty of the residents 
of the Quaker City : 

November, 1778. The Directors taking into consider- 
ation the high prices of firewood, candles, etc., agreed that 
the Library be open during the winter months only upon 
Wednesday and Saturday from two till eight. 

Mav 4, 1 78 1. The Directors agree that thirty shil- 
hngs. State money, be received in lieu of a basket of 
wheat, by which the annual payments were last year directed 
to be made. 



JO REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

In 1797 President Washington was invited to 
use the Hbrary, a specially bound catalogue of the 
books being presented to him for his use. In 1824 
the free use of the library was tendered to Genera] 
Lafayette. 

To-day the library contains nearly two hundred 
and fifty thousand volumes. But more precious 
than the books are the souvenirs of the past. One 
of these is an oil painting some eight feet long, 
entitled " A South East Prospect of the City of 
Philadelphia, by Peter Cooper, painter." It is sup- 
posed to have been painted in 1720, and is inter- 
esting as showing the houses on the water front 
with the names of the owners. The picture was 
found in a secondhand dealer's shop in London 
and given to the library. 

Sonne. George M. Abkot. A Short History of the Library 
Company of Philadelphia. Compiled from the minutes. 






For our knowledge of early days in the colonies we are not de- 
pendent altogether on the writings of men and women. Fortunately 
there have come down to us records made by boys and girls as well. 

Esther Edwards of Northampton, Massachusetts, began her 
diary on her ninth birthday. Let her tell her own story. 



7rrrrr^r/r\iyiyiYl'^rn^yr\\rr\^rrwrl'^yr,^\'r/^^rrmr^Y^ 



CHAPTER XI 

A ROMANCE OF COLONIAL DAYS 

This is my ninth birthday, and Mrs. Edwards, my mother, 
has had me stitch these sundry sheets of paper into a boolv 
to make me a journal. Methinks, ahnost all this family 
keep journals ; though they seldom show them. But Mrs. 
Edwards is to see mine, because she needs to know whether 
I improve in composing ; also, whether I am learning to keep 
my heart with all diligence ; in which we are all constrained 
to be engaged. 

These lines, written under date of February 
13, 1 741, were the first entry in the journal of 
Esther Edwards, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jona- 
than Edwards, of Northampton, Massachusetts. 
Mr. Edwards was pastor of the village church. 

Once, a little later, after her mother had ex- 
amined her journal, Esther wrote this : 

My mother says my journal thus far is rather stilted 
and mature for me ; though everything in the family is 

71 



72 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

mature. I have a letter of my father's, written when he 
was younger than I am, which I shall transcribe, just to 
show where the present writer gets her stilts and maturity. 

Esther's first experience of romance in real life 
came when David Brainerd, the famous missionary 




BRAINERD PREACHINC lO THK INDIANS 



to the Indians, was expelled from Yale College 
because he had said of a tutor that he had no 
more religion than a chair. He soon found refuge 
in the Edwards home. Esther wrote of him : 

He is likely to become a member of this family, it seems. 
Soon after coming to Northampton he displayed strong 
affinity for Jerusha, our sister of seventeen. Thus far, his 



A ROMANCE OF COLONIAL DAYS 73 

Indian missionary labors have been solitary. He thinks this 
a mistake. He has had no domestic attention, no home 
care, no one to hold him back from over-exertion. And he 
means now, should he ever recover, which I very much 
misdoubt, to take a female helpmate back with him. I am 
pretty sure this kind of love would never satisfy me. I 
believe he loves her more because she will make a good 
missionary than for any other reason. But little does the 
dear girl care. 

The young missionary became more and more 
of an invalid, wearing himself out in his work. 
Jerusha cared for him tenderly. He died October 
9, 1747; Jerusha Edwards followed him in four 
months, at the age of eighteen. 

Now Esther was to take her place as the eldest 
daughter of the home. Though only fifteen, she 
was in many ways a woman. 

In 1750 her father was driven from Northampton 
by people who did not believe in him. He took 
his family to Stockbridge, where he began work 
without salary amono- the Indians. Esther wrote 
of the life there: 

This family is very busy making lace and embroidery, so 
as to replenish the household treasury. In Northampton, 
my honored father had purchased a valuable homestead, 
with land for fuel and pasturing, and had erected a commo- 
dious dwelling house. These had by our exercising the 
strictest economy all been paid for, before his removal. 



74 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

Among the bitterest of our experiences, therefore, was to 
be sent roofless and homeless to a wilderness. But neither 
my honored mother, nor any of the children bated a jot 
of hope. We began at once the making and decoration of 
fans and other ornamental work, which we were assisted to 
dispose of in Boston, by our friends, the Princes, there. 
How narrow our circumstances were may be seen from the 
necessity put upon our father to use the margins of other- 
wise useless pamphlets and the backs of letters, on which 
to write his sermons and treatises. 

Less than two years later Esther left her Massa- 
chusetts home to go to Newark, New Jersey, where 
she was to marry Reverend Aaron Burr, president of 
the College of New Jersey. She made the journey 
on horseback, her mother being her only companion. 
As she rode through the forest she sang the song 
she had herself composed as an expression of her 
happiness : 

My love hath love that he sendeth me 

From the piney wilds of the Newark sea. 

From the piney wilds, where the Mayflow'r blows, 

And the princely Hudson seaward goes. 

And I have love that I waft to him. 

As I mount my steed for the Hudson's brim ; 

As I mount my steed and speed to him. 

It was in this home to which she went so gladly 
that Aaron Burr, who was to become vice president 








ON THE WAV TO HER iMARRLAGE 



75 



76 REAL STORIES EROM OUR HISTORY 

of the United States, was born. When he was two 
years old his mother wrote : 

Aaron is a little dirty, noisy boy, very different from 
Sally almost in everything. He begins to talk a little, is 
very sly, mischievous, and has more sprightliness than Sally. 
I must say he is handsomer, but not so good-tempered. 
He is very resolute, and requires a good governor to bring 
him to terms. 

Source. James Eames Raxkix (Editor). Esther Burr's Journal. 
Woodward and Lothrop, Washington, D.C. 



^J^UA}UV^iWJX^UWJWJAKUW^>iXU'^l.i^^ 



" Do send a five-dollar bill by the post immediately ! " 
It was a Maine girl of the eighteenth century who sent this 
urgent request to her parents. She was ashamed to go into 
company without something the five dollars would buy. What 
was it? Her diary will tell. 



:frwA>-yr\~YYA>fYnYrn>rYn>YnwAA^nY>nYynYyAY^ 



CHAPTER XII 

THE HEART OF AN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY GIRL 

Eliza Southgate lived in ScarlDoro, Maine, near 
the close of the eifrhteenth century. Her life is 
faithfully pictured for readers of to-day in her let- 
ters to friends and relatives. 

These letters are full of lively descriptions of 
people and things. The young girl was a careful 
observer, and she had an entertaining way of telling 
what she saw. But far more interesting than these 
descriptive passages in her letters are the sen- 
tences and paragraphs which give a glimpse of the 
heart of the writer. She was not only a good 
friend ; she was also a dutiful daughter who loved 
her parents and honored them. 

When, at fourteen years of age, she was absent 
from home, attending a boarding school, she wrote 
to her father and mother, under date of May 
twenty-fifth, 1797: 

77 



yS REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

I hope I am in some measure sensible of the great obH- 
gation I am under to you for the inexpressible kindness and 
attention which I have received from you, from the cradle 
to my present situation in school. Many have been your 
anxious cares for the welfare of me, your child, at every 
stage of my inexperienced life. In my infancy you nursed 
me and reared me up, my inclinations you have indulged, 
and my follies you have checked. You have liberally fed 
me with the bounty of your table, and from your instruc- 
tive lips I have been admonished to virtue, morality and reli- 
gion. The debt of gratitude I owe you is great, yet I hope 
to repay you by duly attending to your counsels and to 
my improvement in useful knowledge. 

My thankful heart with grateful feelings beats, 
With filial duty I my parents greet. 
Your fostering care hath reared me from my birth. 
And been my guardians since I 've been on earth. 
With love unequalled taught the surest way 
And checked my passions when they went astray. 
I wish and trust to glad declining years — 
Make each heart gay, each eye refrain from tears. 
When days are finished and when time shall cease, 
May you be wafted to eternal peace. 

Again, a little later, she wrote thus to her 
mother: 

With what pleasure did I receive your letter and hear 
the praises of an approving mother. It shall be my duty to 
please and make you happy. 

Your affectionate and most dutiful daughter. 




Curtis &■ Cameron. Boston 



A BELLE OF THE COLONIES 
From a Copley Print 



79 



So REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

Her homesickness, usually so well concealed, 
found expression on one occasion, when she wrote : 

Never did I know the worth of good parents half so 
much as now I am far from them. I never missed home 
dainties so much, and above all things our cheese and butter, 
which we have ver}- little of ! But I am very contented. 

She was so well content that she desired to 
remain at school longer than the term originally 
arranged for. Her request for an extension of time 
was put thus : " I should feel happv and very grate- 
ful if you thought proper to let me tarry." 

The letter from her mother which gave the 
desired permission evidently spoke of the privation 
suffered in the continued loss of the daughter's 
presence, for Eliza's next message was : 

You say that you will regret so long an absence ; not more 
certainly than I shall. But having a strong desire to possess 
more useful knowledge than I at present do, I can dispense 
with the pleasure a little longer of beholding my friends, 
and I hope I shall be better prepared to meet my good 
parents, toward whom my heart overflows with gratitude. 

Eliza was now fifteen, and was making good 
progress in her studies. She spoke of arithmetic 
as her chief study. At first she used a small text- 
book, and later reviewed the subject by preparing 
a manuscript arithmetic of her own. When com- 
pleted this was bound and sent home. 










-^t:A 



-jj^^ 



K 1 , 



.sKLM.aC 



^p^H WXY2 .\2C-?..5'<<739, >^- .J 

J%_T«/ ■' c4s Ihe fifSt *(To«3 or »ir. mfjniS Ki-^j ' /,', '"J 



■:^ li^d While htr (1.1$ erS 




A SAMPLER DONE BY CLARISSA EMERSON OF LANCASTER, 
MASSACHUSETTS 



8i 



82 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

After some months in the school she thanked 
her brother for his statement that she had im- 
proved in her writing. " I am glad of it," she wrote. 
" I hope I shall make as great progress in my 
other studies, and be an accomplished miss." 

Here is a letter sent to her father: 

I hope by the help of heaven never to cause shame or 
misery to attend the gray hairs of my parents , . . but on 
the contrary to glad your declining years with happiness, 
and that you may never have cause to rue the day that 
gave me existence. 

After spending eighteen months at Medford, she 
was transferred to a school in Boston. From there 
she wrote to her father: 

I learn geography and embroidery at present, and wish 
your permission to learn music. You may justly say, my 
best of fathers, that every letter of mine is one which is 
asking for something more. I only ask. If you refuse 
me, I know you do what you think best, and I am sure I 
ought not to complain, for you have never yet refused me 
anything that I have needed. My best of parents, how shall 
I repay you .'' You answer, " By your good behavior." 
Heaven grant that it may be such as ma)' repay you. 

She made mistakes, and once at least, she seri- 
ously grieved her parents by her misconduct. They 
wrote her of their sorrow. Here is her reply: " I 
see my errors, and if I can only hope they will 



AN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY GH^L 83 

be no longer remembered by my parents, I shall 
again be happy." 

At seventeen years of age she left school and 
was having a rather gay time among the young 
men of Boston. Changed surroundings suggested 
new wants, and again she sent a request home: 

Wliat do you think I am going to ask for ? A wig ! I 
must either cut my hair or wear one ; I cannot dress it at 
all stylish. How much time it will save ! — in one year we 
could save it in pins and paper, besides the trouble. At the 
Assembly I was quite ashamed of my head, for nobody has 
long hair. If you will consent to my having one, do send over 
a five-dollar bill by the post immediately after you receive 
this, for I am in hopes to have it by the next Assembly. 

To her younger sister Octavia, who was, in her 
turn, away from home, studying music, she wrote : 

My musical talents will be dim when compared with the 
luster of yours. Pooh, Eliza ! You are not envious .'* No ! I 
will excel in something else if not in music. Oh, nonsense ! 
This spirit of emulation in families is destructive of concord 
and harmony. At least I will endeavor to excel you in 
sisterly affection. If you outshine me in accomplishments, 
will it not be all in the family ? Certainly ! 

In a letter to this same sister the seventeen-year- 
old woman of the world ga\e the following sage 
■ counsel : 

I think, my dear sister, you ought to improve every mo- 
ment of your time while in school. In November terminates 



84 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

the period of your instruction — the last you will receive, 
perhaps ever — only what you may gain by observation. 
You will never cease to learn, I hope. The world is a 
volume of instruction, which will afford you continual em- 
ployment. Peruse it with attention and candor, and you 
will never think the time thus employed misspent. 

At the age of nineteen Eliza went on a journey 
to Saratoga Springs. On the way she met the 
young man who later became her husband. As 
always, she remembered her duty to her father 
and mother. In writing of his intention to seek 
her parents' consent to their marriage, she added : 

And now, my dearest mother, I submit myself w'holly to 
the wishes of my father, and you, convinced that my happi- 
ness is your warmest wish, and to promote it has ever been 
your duty. I have referred him wholly to you, and you, my 
dearest parents, must decide. 

The parents decided favorably, and Eliza South- 
gate was married. Six years the young people 
spent in their own home in New York. Then 
Eliza died. But her influence survives in these 
letters, which preach a sermon whose text is the 
fifth commandment. 

Sources. E. S. Bowne. A Girl's Life Eighty Years Ago. Charles 
Scribner's Sons, New York. 

Leonard B. Chapman. Monograph on the Southgate Family. 
Hubbard W. Bryant, Portland, Maine. 






-.-^^.----J 



There was no lack of work for the boys of the early days. 
Some worked on land ; others worked with their fathers on the 
sea. Fishing smacks and coasting vessels lured many of them 
from home, but the ships which most attracted them were those 
of the famous whaling fleet. 



CHAPTER XIII 

WHALE-FISHING IN COLONIAL DAYS 

In these days of kerosene oil and gas and electric 
lights it is difficult to understand how important 
the whale was to the early settlers. Indeed, even be- 
fore their day the Indians were accustomed to hunt 
the whale in bark canoes, frail craft, held together 
with tough sinews and with the cracks stopped up 
with spruce gum and fat. 

Right whales were especially difficult to handle, 
and white fishermen feared them, but the Indians 
bra\'ely attempted to hunt them whenever they 
saw them spout. Puny were the implements of 
the sea whalers, but what they lacked in imple- 
ments thev made up in courage, ingenuity, and 
perseverance. 

To the Indians the settlers on the coast were 
indebted for their first instructions in the art of 
whaling, as for so many other things. For years 

^85 



86 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

Indians and white men were often members of the 
same whaHng crew. The Indians were glad to ac- 
cept in payment unmarketable parts of the whale. 

Among the inhabitants of Long Island whale- 
fishing was a regular business. John R. Spears says 
that "in March, 1644, the settlers divided themselves 
into four wards of eleven persons, each to attend to 




THE CHASE 



the drift whales cast ashore, and it was voted that, 
when such a whale was found, 'every inhabitant, 
with his child or servant that is above sixteen years 
of age,' should share equally in the products, save 
only as two men who were appointed to cut up the 
carcass were to have two shares each." 

Of course every man was eager to share in the 
rewards of fishing, but there were found those who 
were always ready to shirk their share of the work. 



WHALE-FISHING IN COLONIAL DAYS 87 



That everybody might take part, the arrangements 
were well ordered from start to finish. The boats 
used were owned in partnership by all in the vil- 
lage. These were always ready for launching when 
word was given that a whale had been sighted. 
A lookout was on 
duty e\'ery day 
and all day, that 
no opportunity 
might be lost. 

Since a person 
standing on the 
low-lying shore of 
Long Island was 
unable to see far, 
it was the custom 
to plant near the 
water tall masts, 
similar to tele- 
graph poles, which 
the lookout could 
climb by means of cleats. Perched on a rough seat 
at the top the climber could look far to sea. When 
complaint was made that the position was too ex- 
posed in severe winter weather, huts were built on 
the beach, inclosed on three sides, but with the 
seaward side open. 




'CUTTING IN" A WHALE 



88 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

Of course the work of tlie lookout was not pleas- 
ant, and there was much difficulty in persuading 
men to take their turn. Especially w'hen the weather 
was bad, volunteers were slow to present themselves. 
In one village the difficulty was solved when, at 
a town meeting held November 6, 1651, "it was 
ordered that Goodman Mulford shall call out y^ 
town by succession to loke for Whale." The sum- 
mons was as imperative as the call of a witness 
in court. 

Whenever the appointed watcher announced a 
whale in the offing, there was great excitement. 
Boats were manned, the strongest men embarking, 
while Indian helpers were called for. These Indians 
were such good workers that they were paid fifty 
per cent more than their white neighbors, and were 
thus kept in good humor. But they earned every 
cent they received. 

At first those who sought the whale kept near 
the shore, but in 171 2 the first deep-sea voyage was 
made by a captain who thought that, if he could 
accomplish so much by going a little way to sea, 
surely the results would be much greater if he went 
farther out. When his logic proved correct, other 
captains followed him, and it was not long before 
the white wings of the American whaling fleet were 
seen on nearly every sea. 



WHALE-FISHING IN C(3LONIAL DAYS 89 

Discoveries of importance were made when voy- 
ages extended into the Arctic Ocean, over to the 
coast of Africa, and south to the coast of Patagonia. 
No wonder Edmund Burke, in the course of a 
speech in Parhament, said : 

No sea but is vexed by their fisheries, no chmate that is 
not a witness to their toils. Neither the perseverance of 
Holland, nor the activity of France, nor the dexterous and 
firm sagacity of English enterprise, ever carried this most 
perilous mode of hardy industry to the extent to whicli it 
has been pushed by this recent people ; a people who are 
still, as it were, but in the gristle, and not yet hardened into 
the bone of manhood. 

The extent of the whaUng industry, even before 
the days of the Revolution, may be seen by a study 
of a Massachusetts report, which told of the voyages 
of the years 1771 to 1775. More than three hundred 
vessels were fitted out each year in the ports of that 
state alone, and more than four thousand men were 
employed as sailors. Nearly fifty thousand barrels of 
oil were taken each year during this period, the best 
of this bringing $18.75 ^ barrel. Whalebone sold 
for fifteen cents a pound. The fifty or sixty whalers 
owned in other states considerablv increased the 
total of oil and bone, though, somehow, the Massa- 
chusetts captains were usually more successful than 
those who hailed from ports in neighboring states. 



90 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

At this period more whaling vessels cleared from 
Nantucket than from any other port. A picture of 
the part played by the people of Nantucket Island 
in the whaling industry is taken from the report of 
a committee of Parliament in 1775 : 

This extraordinary people, amounting to between five and 
six thousand in number, nine tenths of whom are Quakers, 



[ f 







Ai;\M)()NED WHALING SHIPS IN THE ICE 



inhabit a barren island fifteen miles long by three broad, 
the products of which are scarcely capable of maintaining 
twenty families. From the only harbor whicli this sterile 
island contains, without natural products of any kind, the 
inhabitants, by an astonishing industry, keep 140 vessels in 
constant employment. Of these eight are employed in the 
importation of provisions for the island, and the rest in the 
whale fishery ; which, with an invincible perseverance and 
courage, they have extended from the frozen regions of the 



WHALE-FISHING IN COLONIAL DAYS 



91 



pole to the coasts of Africa, to the Brazils, and even to 
the Falkland Islands ; some of those fishing voyages con- 
tinuing for twelve months. 

One of the unfortunate results of the war which 
followed so soon after these words were written 
was the practical annihilation of the Nantucket in- 
dustry. One hundred and thirty-four of the vessels 
owned on the island w^ere captured by the British. 




MJSwm ■ini-l-iar 



I H E WHALING FLEET 



]\Iany of the captains and men were forced to serve 
in Great Britain's whaling ships; for that country, 
attracted by the success of Nantucket men, and de- 
termined to build up a successful fishery, decided 
tliat none but Nantucket sailors should be employed. 
Of course the New Englanders were unwilling to 
serve the enemy even in a commercial way, but 
when the choice was presented of accepting this 
service or enlisting on war vessels to fight against 



92 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

their countrymen, many of them surrendered. At 
one time sixteen Nantucket men were commanders 
of British whalers. 

But at the close of the war it was Nantucket that 
had the honor of sending the first ship frying the 
Stars and Stripes to an English port. The interest 
created by her appearance may be seen from this 
report in a London paper: 

The ship Bedford, Captain Mooers, belonging to Mas- 
sachusetts, arrived in the Downs on the 3d of February, & 
was reported at the Custom-House the 6th instant. She 
was not allowed regular entry until some consultation had 
taken place between the commissioners and the customs & 
the lords of council, on account of the many acts of Parlia- 
ment yet in force against the rebels in America. She is 
loaded with 487 butts of whale oil ; is American built ; 
manned wholly by American seamen ; wears the rebel colors 
& belongs to the Island of Nantucket in Massachusetts. 

With the increase in tonnage of whaling vessels 
Nantucket's supremacy became a thing of the past. 
The bar at the mouth of the harbor would not allow 
the passage of large vessels when fully laden. Grad- 
ually New Bedford forged ahead. In 1857 she sent 
out ninety-five vessels, while Nantucket sent but four. 

Source. John R. Spears. The Story of the New England Whalers. 
The Macmillan Company, New York. The illustrations printed in con- 
nection with this chapter are reproduced from Mr. Spears' volume, by 
the courtesy of the publishers. 






While adventurers roamed the sea in quest of whales, other 
hardy men tramped through the forests and over the plains, hunt- 
ing and trapping, or trading for furs with the Indians. Zenas 
Leonard, one of these pioneer traders, returned with glowing tales 
of the West and its possibilities. 



rfrvcrr\yyr<^yJ'\rrl'\rrr\>iyr\rrl'^^Yr\\yl'^yrt^Yr,'^^'Y,'^^ 



CHAPTER XIV 

ADVENTURES OF AN EARLY FUR TRADER 

In the early day.s of the nineteenth century the 
great forests were full of animals whose fur was 
valuable. Many men made their living by trap- 
ping. They would take long journeys into the 
wilderness, and when they returned they would 
usually have rich store of furs, as well as wonderful 
stories of their adventures. 

Zenas Leonard was one of these trappers. In 
1 83 1 he started on a five years' hunting and 
trapping journey to the Rocky Mountains. All 
this time he kept a diary, which later was printed 
and distributed among his friends. 

When he left St. Louis he was clerk of a com- 
pany of seventy men. At the beginning of the 
first winter the company pitched camp in a grove 
of cottonwoods, hoping to be able to keep their 
horses alive on the bark. When snow covered 

93 



94 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

the ground and it was impossible to find other 
food, the bark was stripped from the trees, but 
the horses refused to touch it. Then the trappers 
discovered, too late, that the camp had been made 
among bitter cottonwoods instead of the sweet 
cottonwoods. The horses perished of starvation. 




INTERRUPTED 



Later a few men in the partv made an overland 
trip to " Santafee," as they called it. Thcv were 
delaved by snowstorms until their food supph- was 
exhausted. They were almost blind from the wind 
and the snow. The deerskin lining of their 
trousers was used to niake snowshoes, parts of 
the beaver skins that thev had been carr\-in(r to 



ADVENTURES OF A FUR TRADER 95 

market were used for food, and tliey })ushed 
l3ra\cly on. They grew weaker and weaker. Two 
animals were seen at last, but the men were too 
blind to tell what thev were. The oruns had been 
used as canes to support the travelers in the soft 
snow, and were not in order for effectix'e work for 
some time. Finally, a shot was fired, but the aim 
was poor. The animals did not take fright, but 
remained long enough for a second shot to be 
fired. This brought down a buffalo. Nine days had 
passed since anything but dried beaver skins had 
been eaten. In the strength due to this food the 
adventurers continued their journey and at last 
they reached Santa Fe. 

This was onlv a beginning of dangers. At one 
time the men were surrounded by two hundred 
Indians, and death seemed sure. Aorain Leonard 
had an encounter with an Indian whom he met 
in the forest. Before he escaped from the savage, 
he received a wound that troubled him for many 
weeks. 

Soon after this trying experience he wrote in 
his journal : 

Some of us had labored hard ; we had at times endured 
the worst suffering from hunger and fatigue, living amid the 
terrors of a wilderness filled with savages and no less dan- 
gerous beasts of prey for two long years, and now left with 



96 REAL STORIES EROM OUR HISTORY 

nothing but an old greasy blanket, a rifle, and a few loads of 
ammunition, some thousands of miles from our homes. We 
had expected that to win a fortune in the fur trade we only 
required a little perseverance and industry. Such had been 
the life we had led, and such the reward. 

At the end of two years the party succeeded 
in reaching San Francisco Bay. " The idea of 
being at the end of the Far West," Leonard wrote, 
" inspired the heart of every member of oiu^ com- 
pany with a patriotic feeling for our country's 
honor. We felt as if all our previous hardships 
and privations would be adequately compensated 
if we would be spared to return in safety to the 
homes of our kindred and have it to say that we had 
stood upon the extreme end of the great West." 

Leonard was happy as he looked out on the 
Pacific. As he stood on the shore he wrote 
a prophecy: 

Most of this vast waste of territory belongs to the repub- 
lic of the United States. Will the government ever succeed 
in civilizing the thousands of savages now roaming over 
these plains, and her hardy, free-born population here plant 
their homes, build their towns and cities, and say, " Here 
shall the arts and sciences of civilization take root and 
flourish " ? Yes, here, even in this remote part of the great 
West, before many years, will these hills and valleys be 
greeted with the enlivening sound of the workman's ham- 
mer, and the merry whistle of the plowboy. We have 



ADVENTURES OF A FUR TRADER 97 

good reason to suppose that the territory west of the moun- 
tains will some day be equally as important to the nation 
as that on the cast. 

Soon the return trip was begun. The Pennsyl- 
vania home was reached in 1839. The net profits 
to Leonard of the five years of pri\'ation were 
ele\'en hundred dollars. 

Soiiiri'. \V. F. Eacjxer (Editor). Adventures of Zenas Leonard, 
Fur Trader and Trapper (reprinted from the original). The Burrows 
Brothers Company, Cleveland, Ohio. 



1 



Travelers like Zenas Leonard gave the first clear idea about the 
West. For generations the region beyond the Mississippi was pic- 
tured in all sorts of fantastic ways. Think of a great lake across the 
Rocky Mountains ! Think of California as an island ! This was the 
belief of many, until explorers found their way to distant regions. 






CHAPTER XV 

WHEN THE WEST WAS NEW 

A glance at a map of about the year 1700 
gives an idea of the erroneous notions then enter- 
tained concerning the American continent. The 
map is called " A new map of North America, 
according to the newest observations, by H. Moll, 
geographer." 

On this map the shores of the Gulf of Mexico 
are rather carefully outlined, as are also the islands 
of the Caribbean Sea. This is not strange, when 
it is remembered that many of the earliest ex- 
plorers made repeated voyages to these regions. 
The peninsula of P^lorida, however, is given a 
peculiar shape, while the name " Florida " is 
made to include all the territory from Virginia 
to Texas, and north to the Illinois River. The 
Great Lakes are rather vague in outline, though 
Lake Erie is given in good proportion, as is also 

98 



WHEN THE WEST WAS NEW 99 

Lake Michigan. Lake Eric, however, is made to 
extend southward nearly as far as Virginia. Lake 
Huron is set down as being three or four times 
as large as Lake Michigan, while Lake Superior, 
called " Upper Lake," is about twice as large as 
Lake Huron. The distance from Lake Superior to 
the nearest point on Hudson's Bay is only about 
two hundred miles. The St. Lawrence River, 
which is made to take its rise near the arctic 
circle, flows southeast, widening to form the Great 
Lakes, then continues its way to the northeast, 
as does the real St. Lawrence. 

Of course the country west of the " Missisuri " 
River, as it w^as called, was a vast unknown region, 
but the maker of the map w^as unwilling to own 
his ignorance. So he put down a few rivers, made 
no mention of mountains, and contented himself 
with writing the words " Many Villages," where 
Missouri is now. But the crowning feature of the 
great Western plain was the River " Longue," in 
reality a lake, which stretched for five hundred 
miles straight across the Rocky Mountain country. 
Islands were set down at random in this " river," 
and the inscription was added, " Many Villages 
on the Islands." 

The Gulf of California is represented as a strait, 
stretching from Mexico on the south to what is 



lOO REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

called the " Mozeemlek Country " on the north, 
where Oregon is now placed. California is thus 
an island, its shape being much like that of the 
state as it is to-day. The upper part of the island 
is called " New Albion." To the north of the 
Mozeemlek Country is a vast region on which is 
written the honest confession, " Unknown Country." 

The wonder is, not that so little was known 
of the continent west of the Mississippi, but that 
so much was known that was even approximately 
correct. The knowledge had been gained from 
various travelers, few of whom knew anything 
of surveying or of scientific map-making. Some 
of them had gone out on fur-trading expeditions, 
though some were traveling for the avowed purpose 
of learning about the country. 

It was not until the famous expedition of Lewis 
and Clark, sent by President Jefferson to explore 
the Western country, that definite ideas began to 
displace the hazy notions of earlier map-makers. 

In 1S03 Lewis and Clark, hardy young men, 
started west. In their party were about thirty 
others, many of whom had lived among the Indians. 
Their equipment was peculiar. They carried three 
boats — a keel boat fifty-five feet long, which could 
travel in three feet of water when loaded with 
twenty-two oarsmen, and two small flat-bottomed 



WHEN THE WEST WAS NEW 



lOI 



boats. The sails of these boats could be used as 
tents at night. As the explorers rowed up the 
Missouri, two horses were led along the bank to be 
at hand when they should be needed for hunting. 




) Brown Brothers 
LEWIS AND CLARK ON THE UPPER MISSOURI 

The boats were loaded with a strange assort- 
ment of goods. In addition to the clothing, tools, 
firearms, and food, there were coats richly laced 
with gilt braid, red trousers, medals, flags, knives, 
colored handkerchiefs, paints, small looking-glasses, 



I02 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

beads, and other trinkets to win the favor of the 
red men. President Jefferson urged the explorers 
to treat the Indians as friends and to assure them 
that the United States would protect them. 

The journey was comparatively easy down the 
Ohio, up the Mississippi, and to the sources of 
the Missouri. But when, in the summer of 1805, 
the Rocky Mountains were crossed, and the trav- 
elers tried to find their way over the Bitter Root 
Mountains, their real troubles began. " They must 
make their way over the sharp ridges, through 
terrific mountain defiles choked with fallen limbs 
and masses of rock debris," Schafer says, in de- 
scribing the difficulties of the way. " For nearly 
a month they threaded dark forests, over steep 
hills, rocks and fallen trees ; made their way along 
dangerous cliffs ; crossed raging torrents, whose 
icy waters chilled both men and animals. Some- 
times they encountered storms of sleet and snow, 
again the weather was very hot and oppressive. 
Most of them became sick, and all were much 
reduced in strength. Food was so scanty that they 
were compelled to kill and eat some of the travel- 
worn horses" which they had secured from friendly 
Shoshone Indians. 

After spending a hard winter at the mouth of 
the Columbia, Lewis and Clark turned back by 



WHEN THE WEST WAS NEW 103 

the way they had come. But first they told tlie 
Indians why they had sought out this land. Then 
they gave some of the natives copies of a note 
which the recipients were asked to hand to any 
white men who might visit them. A rough map 
of the journey was included on the sheet with the 
note. One of these papers reached Philadelphia 
in 1S07, by way of Canton, China. It had been 
given by a faithful Indian to the captain of a 
trading vessel. 

Other explorers followed in the steps of these 
hardy pioneers, but it was a generation before 
the tide of immigration set in to what was once 
known as the Mozeemlek Country. 

Source. Schafer. History of the Pacific Northwest. The Mac- 
millan Company, New York. 



i^JMJA^UK^L.|JMJ WJ^^iJ^^UMUJ^U JWJfJ^^xvvi^ 

S 



There were those who did not think that the Western country 
was worth anything, but, fortunately, there were those who 
thought otherwise. So the territory of Louisiana was bought from 
France in 1803. At once the government began to investigate the 
possibilities of the new land, and made some wonderful discoveries. 



;frTrrAY>vA^YAY)7^YynYrn>Yn^YAA>nY^r^>7/^YrnYy 



CHAPTER XVI 

WHEN LOUISIANA WAS BOUGHT FROM FRANCE 

It is not easy to picture the popular ignorance 
concerning the South and West of a century ago. 
Perhaps there is no better indication of this than 
the description of the Louisiana country, written 
in 1803 for the state department at Washington, 
to give information of the vast territory bought 
from France. 

In the absence of a map of this region, an 
attempt was made to describe the boundaries, 
and to mention the chief divisions. Among these 
were mentioned Mobile, New Orleans, Ste. Gene- 
vieve, New Bourbon, Catahanose, Fourche, and 
Galvez-Town. 

It was stated that many of these divisions were 
"separated from each other by immense and track- 
less deserts, having no communication with each 

other by land, except now and then a solitary 

104 



WHEN LOUISIANA WAS BOUGHT 105 

instance of its being attempted by hunters, wIk) 
have to swim rivers, expose themselves to the in- 
clemency of the weather, and carry their provisions 
on their backs for a time." 

The principal settlements in Louisiana were on 
the Mississippi, " which begins to be cultivated 
about twenty leagues from the sea, where the 




NEW ORLEANS IN 1S03 
From a painting in the Louisiana State Museum 



plantations are yet thin, and owned by the poorest 
people." Farther north were better plantations for a 
few miles. Along the river there was no space be- 
tween cultivated fields, although the fringe of tilled 
land extended but a little distance from the shore. 
Special mention was made of Baton Rouge, 
which was considered remarkable as being " the 
first place where the high land is contiguous to 
the river." Attention was called to two creeks 



io6 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

which entered the river near this point, whose 
banks " have the best soil and the greatest number 
of good cotton plantations of any part of Louisiana, 
and are allowed to be the garden of it." 

Along the river, from the sea to Pointe Coupee, 
fifty leagues from New Orleans, " three-fourths of 
the population and seven-eighths of the riches of 
Louisiana " were included. 

A statement concerning the land on the west 
bank of the river is interesting, in view of the 
developments of more modern days : 

From the settlement of Pointe Coupee on the Mississippi, 
to Cape Girardeau, above the mouth of the Ohio, there is 
no land on the west side that is not overflowed in the spring 
to the distance of eight or ten leagues from the river, with 
from two to twelve feet of water, except a small spot near 
New Madrid, so that in the whole extent there is no possi- 
bility of forming a considerable settlement contiguous to 
the river on that side. The eastern bank has in this re- 
spect a decided advantage over the western, as there are in 
it many situations which effectually command the river. 

At the mouth of the Arkansas River were a 
few families who were " more attached to the In- 
dian trade than to cultivation." It was added 
that "' there is no settlement from the place to 
New Madrid, which is itself inconsiderable. As- 
cending the river, you come to Cape Girardeau, 



WHEN LOUISIANA WAS BOUGHT 107 

Ste. Genevieve and St. Louis, where, though the in- 
habitants are numerous, they raise Httle for exporta- 
tion, and content themselves with trading with the 
Indians and working a few lead mines." A note was 
made of the fact that "lead is to be had with ease, 
and in such quantities as to supply all Europe, if 
the population were suflficient to work the numer- 
ous mines to be found within two or three feet 
from the surface in various parts of the country." 
After telling of the wonderful silver and copper 
mines farther north, this paragraph was devoted 
to a more ordinary product : 

The salt works are also pretty numerous ; some belong 
to individuals, others to the public. They already yield 
an article of general exportation. The usual price per 
bushel is one hundred and fifty cents in cash at the works. 
This price will be still lower as soon as the manufacture of 
the salt is assumed by government, or patronized by men 
who have large capital to employ in the business. One ex- 
traordinary fact relative to salt must not be omitted. There 
exists about one thousand miles up the Missouri, and not 
far from that river a Sa/t Mountain ! The existence of 
such a mountain might well be questioned were it not for 
the testimony of several respectable and enterprising traders 
who have visited it, and who have exhibited several bushels 
of the salt to the curiosity of the people of St. Louis, where 
some of it still remains. The mountain is said to be one 
hundred and eighty miles long, and forty-five in width, 
composed of solid rock salt, without any trees or even 



loS REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

shrubs on it. Salt springs are very numerous below the 
surface of the mountain, and they flow through the fissures 
and cavities of it. 

Returning to the lower part of the Louisiana 
territory, the writer of this early treatise on the 




THi; CAllLDO, THE SPANISH COURTHOUSE 1^ NEW l'KLEANs 
Now used as a museum 

greatest real-estate purchase ever made went on 
to speak of the possibilities of the cultivation of 
sugar cane. On one section of the river the lands 
on both banks, for a distance of ninety miles, and 
about three quarters of a mile deep, were consid- 
ered adapted to sugar cultivation. No other part 



WHEN LOUISIANA WAS BOUGHT 109 

of the territory was thought to be fit for the pur- 
pose. On this territory annually twenty-five thou- 
sand hogsheads of sugar could be produced, as 
well as twelve thousand puncheons of rum. This 
seemed to the writer to be the limit of cane 
production, although enterprising young planters 
stated that one third or even one half of the 
arable land within certain limits could be planted 
in cane. But at the very outside estimate it 
seemed that not more than fifty thousand hogs- 
heads of sugar could be counted on. 

The early historian would be startled if he 
could take a glimpse to-day of the rich lands 
along the valley of the lower Mississippi, on both 
sides of the river, and should note the enormous 
product of the plantations, and the wonderful de- 
\elopment of the towns and cities. 

Source. An Account of Louisiana. 1S03. Old South Leaflets. \'ol. 5. 
An abstract of documents in the office of the Department of State and 
of the Treasury. 






The purchase of the Louisiana Territory encouraged immigra- 
tion to the West, and before many years had passed, southern 
Illinois and southern Indiana were tolerably well settled, especially 
in the river valleys. 

" The woods around us are inhabited by Indians, bears, wolves, 
deer, opossums, and raccoons " was the message one of those early 
settlers in the valley of the Wabash sent to friends in England. 
Yet he urged them to consider following him to that wild country 
and helping in the worth-while struggle of the pioneer. 



c^/r^w/^YrAwnvrnYynYVAwnwAYiriYyn'Yy.^^ 



CHAPTER XVII 

AN ENGLISH IMMIGRANT'S JOURNEY TO 
ILLINOIS TERRITORY 

In 1817 a company of English immigrants landed 
in Virginia, on the way to English Prairie, in 
southern Illinois. To one of the party, Elias Pym 
Fordham, was given charge of the farming im- 
plements and household furniture, which he ac- 
companied as far as Cincinnati. His route was 
by water from Norfolk to Baltimore, thence over- 
land to Pittsburo;h and down the Ohio River to 
Cincinnati. There he rejoined the other members 
of the party who had traveled to Pittsburgh in a 
phaeton and a light wagon, and thence had gone 
on horseback across southern Ohio to Cincinnati. 

During his journey, and after reaching his des- 
tination, the vounor nian wrote letters to friends 



AN ENGLISH IMMIGRANT'S JOURNEY iii 

in England in whicli he told of his experiences 
and liis impressions of the new countr}-. That 
these letters were written under difficulties is 
apparent from the preface, dated in 1818, to the 
published collection of the letters. He says, " Some- 
times the writer was surrounded by the noisy 




ON THE ROAD IX EARLY DAYS. THE CONESTOGA \VAGON 
Reproduced by permission of the Philadelphia Commercial Museum 

inhabitants of a smoky cabin, in his blanket tent, 
or in the bar room or no less public dormitory 
of a tavern." 

From Baltimore to Pittsburgh, a distance of two 
hundred and forty miles, the farming implements 
and furniture were transported b}' wagons. "The 
mail is six days going this distance, the waggons 
sixteen," he wrote. " Thev travel at 12, 15 or 20 



112 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

miles per day. They avoid, as much as possible, 
the trampled roads, and scramble over hills and 
mountains, where English waggons would be dashed 
to pieces. The waggoners requested that we keep 
with them on the mountains; for the combined 
strength of several men is necessary to keep the 
waggons from upsetting in descending the cliffs." 

At Pittsburgh the goods in his care were loaded 
on two flatboats, curious structures for floating- 
downstream which aroused his curiosity. He noted 
with interest, " Not a loo nails are used in building 
one, but they are stuck together by wooden pins." 

Progress on the river was slow, for the current 
was only three miles an hour. But many of the 
long hours were passed in a skiff, in which he 
rowed to the shore, where he scrambled over the 
rocks and searched for curious plants or squirrels. 
Sometimes the skil¥ would strike a log and he 
would be thrown into the water, but this merely 
added to the interest of the journey. 

At length Cincinnati was reached, at the end 
of seven weeks after leaving the James River. 
From Cincinnati he traveled with his friends. 

The journey across Indiana was made "on 
horseback, each person furnished with an upper 
and under blanket, and saddle bags, and two 
pack-horses with extra luggage and bedding," 



AN ENGLISH IMMIGRANT'S JOURNEY 113 

At night the party stopped in roadside taverns, 
or with farmers, most of whom had a room for 
travelers. The country traversed was " one vast 
forest, intersected by a few Blaze roads,^ and two 
or three open roads. There are a few new towns 




PIONEERS ON A FLATBOAT 



and some settlements on and near the state roads 
and river. These are p-enerallv from one to three 
years old." 

1 The traveler gave in his diary this explanation of Blaze [blazed] 
roads : " Blaze roads are merely lines, marked through the forests by slices 
of bark, like a blaze, being chopped off the trees. When a road is surveyed, 
the trees are cut down, and the stumps are left to rot in the ground. The 
trees on each side are notched at convenient distances, to distinguish the 
State roads from private ones to plantations, and this is then called an 
open road." 



114 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

At Princeton, Indiana, a house was visited and 
Mr. Fordham remained there, with some of his 
companions, for six months, while others went on 
to Enghsh Prairie. The town was then three 
years old, and contained three small brick houses, 
four or five frame dwellings, and seven or eight 
houses built of logs, besides a dozen cabins. The 
author notes the fact that " the trees have not yet 
had time to rot away in the streets, which were 
therefore dangerous to walk in after dark." 

Not all the inhabitants of the region were de- 
sirable. Mr. F'ordham said, " We hear the howling 
of the wolves every evening, as they are driven 
back from the farmyards by the dogs, who flock 
together to repel the invaders." 

From Princeton the traveler made many journeys 
of exploration through the surrounding country. 
When he mounted for these trips he wore " a 
broad-brimmed straw hat, long trousers and moc- 
casins, shot pouch and powder horn slung from 
a belt, rifle at his l^ack in a sling, tomahawk in 
a holster at his saddlebow, a pair of saddlebags 
stuffed with shorts and gingerbread, and a Boat- 
cloak and Scotch tent buckled behind the saddle." 

Finally he went to English Prairie. From this 
place he sent a letter saying that the town had " no 
population to withstand an incursion of Indians, 



AN ENGLISH IMMIGRANT'S JOURNEY 115 

if a war had been excited by the violent and cruel 
hunters," and that therefore the houses " were 
planned to be easily converted into forts," 

Before long so many settlers were coming to 
the country that the author of the letters thought 
he saw a chance to make money. He wrote : 

I am laying off a new town to be called Albion. It will 
consist of 8 streets and a public square. Most likely it will 
be the County Town, and if so, there will be a Court house 
and a gaol, as well as a Market house and a Chapel, which 
last will be built whether it be the seat of justice or not. 

The desire of the town builder was gratified ; 
since 182 1 Albion has been the county seat of 
Edwards County. 

Source. F. A. Ogg. Fordham's Personal Narrative, 181 7, 1818. 
A. H. Clark, Cleveland, Ohio. 



■,^ UWJ/AUJV^UXVUWo<aWMWA\U^ Ua^ 



The Illinois prairies did not attract the immigrants so soon as 
the regions farther south, but when the tide began to turn north- 
ward, development was rapid. 

The diary of one of the early settlers in the vicinity of Chicago 
gives a vivid picture of the experiences of the pioneers. 



irwfr\^/-^:^n^nrrr\\Yr\^Yr\\Yr\^yr\YrY-\Yrr\^^r^ 



CHAPTER XVIII 

GLIMPSES OF WESTERN PIONEER LIFE 

In 1836 A. H. Conant, a New Englander, turned 
his face to the Mississippi Valley. After an over- 
land trip from Vermont to Buffalo, he went by 
the Lakes to Chicago, and thence to the Fox 
River country, the Dupage and Bureau rivers, and 
finally to the banks of the Des Plaines, about 
twenty miles northwest of Chicago. There a farm 
was located. On this farm and in the neighbor- 
hood occurred such events as the following re- 
corded in the diary of the traveler: 

1836 

Jan. I — Attended to the survey of my claim. 

2 — Drew rails. 

3 — Sunday. Wrote -poetry. 

4 — Made shelves and split rails. 

5 — Went to Chicago with a load of potatoes, 

6 — Sold my potatoes for 75 cents a bushel. 

116 



WESTERN PIONEER LIFE 117 

7 — Cut apples, worked at my house, husked corn. 

8 — Attended a meeting of settlers for securing to 

each man his present claim. 

9 — Cut rail timber, 

10 — Sunday. Went to Chicago. 

Other entries show that time was taken for 
self-development, and for duties to others : 

Attended a meeting called to get the mail route changed 
from Chicago to Green Bay. . . . Attended arbitration be- 
tween father and Rufus Saule ; decided in favor of Rufus, 
and let him have some potatoes. . . . Read Mason on " Self- 
Knowledge." . . . Read the "Latin Grammar." . . . Brought 
in a deer. . . . Read the " Life of Josephine." . . . Got out 
wood for chairs. . . . Made a coffin for Mrs. Dougherty, 
and helped to bury her. . . . Made and bottomed chairs. . . . 
Mrs. Hoard and Betsy Kilsey arrived. . . . Planted corn, 
and prepared for the wedding. . . , Married Betsy Kilsey. 

Just that bit to tell of the arrival from the East 
of his promised wife, the preparations for the wed- 
ding, crowded into a day with farm work, and the 
wedding itself ! 

The next entry tells just as briefly of attempts 
to fit up the pioneer home : " Made a table, and 
borrowed six bushels of potatoes, to be paid back 
with interest in the fall." 

Other entries were : 

Wife is 18 to-day. Made a few articles of furniture. . . . 
Read " Paley's Natural Theology." . . . Made a churn. . . . 



Ii8 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

Heard big wolves howling, . . . Hunted deer. . , . Worked 
at shoemaking. . . . Made a coffin for H. Dougherty. . , . 
Plastered my house. . . . Dressed pig and calves torn by 
wolves. . . . Dug a well. Killed a badger. . . . Corn half 
destroyed by blackbirds. . . . Set out shade trees. . . . 
Read Cowper. Took up a bee tree to hive for honey. . . , 
Hunted deer. 

At length the farmer made up his mind to com- 
plete his education. So he studied hard ; but he 
was so busy on the farm that the most favorable 
days for study were those when he was not well 
enough to work. During that time the following 
entries were made : 

Made a ditching machine. . . . Studied algebra. . . . 
Made a chest of drawers. . . . Hunted a panther. . . . Went 
to a bridge raising. . . . Hewed timber for a barn. . . . 
Made a wagon. . . . Made a cheese press. . . . Unwell, and 
so studied algebra. . . . Made a sun dial. . . . Sister Har- 
riet dead. . . . Made a coffin for Sister Harriet. . . . Went 
to the mill. . . . Read the " History of Rome." . . . Hunted 
deer. . . . Unwell, so wrote temperance address. . . . Hunted 
panther. . . . Sat on jury. . . . Helped to make post office. . . . 
Examined the school teacher. . . . Wrote a sermon. . . . 
Made soap. . . . Boiled sugar. . . . Started for New Eng- 
land, to attend school. 

In 1 84 1 the young pioneer went back to the 
prairies, where he toiled on the farm and among 
the people who needed his services, preaching here 



WESTERN PIONEER LIFE 



119 



and there, and finally becoming pastor in Geneva 
and Rockford. In one of his fields he was promised 
"$125 a year for one sermon each Sunday." His 
biographer chose extracts from his diaries which 
showed the manner of his life in Geneva, " while 




A PIONEER GRISTMILL 



he held, as it were, the pioneer's axe in one hand 
and the Bible in the other, doing a man's work 
with both." Here are a few of these extracts: 

Wrote a sermon, and made a door. . , . Raised the house 
frame. , . . Cut and drew ice, and made curtain rods. . . . 
Made a plan of a sermon on the Prodigal Son, a pair of 



I20 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

quilting frames, and an argument at the lyceum against cap- 
ital punishment. . . , Read Neander. . . . Made a chair, . . . 
Worked on a sermon. . . . Drew straw. Commenced a 
sermon, and worked in the woods. . . . Doctored sick horse. . . . 
Cut wood. . . . Read Neander. Horse died. . . , Began a 
sermon. Planted potatoes. .. . Built an icehouse. .. . Helped 
wife to wash. . . . Made benches for the school. . . . Fin- 
ished sermon, and haying. . . . Set out plum trees. . . . 
Planned a sermon. Made a gravel walk. . . . Wrote a ser- 
mon. Papered my study. . . . Wrote at a sermon. . . . 
Planted seventy peach trees. . . . Wrote at a sermon. . . . 
Made a bedstead for the cobbler. , , . Went to Elgin with 
father, to build a cupola for the church. . . . Worked at 
cupola. . . . Raised cupola. . . . Hung the bell. . . . 
Preached in the church. . . . Read Macaulay. Made candles. 

One entry calls for an explanation. The bed for 
the cobbler was not made for money. The cob- 
bler was a poor cripple. He could make a meager 
living if he had a little house in which he could 
live and work. So the pioneer built a place for 
him entirely with his own hands, and furnished it 
in the same way. He secured for the old cripple all 
the wood he wanted, too, for the winter, sawed, split, 
and piled it for him, and drove the wolf once for 
all from the door, the result being the happiest 
cobbler in Kane County. 

Source. Robert Collyer. Augustus Conant. The Beacon Press, 
Boston. 






I 
..,.. ,.J 



Settlement of one portion of the Louisiana country was slow — 
and all because of a raft, more than one hundred miles long, 
which covered the waters of a river from the mouth far toward its 
source. Until that raft was destroyed, settlement was impossible. 

The story of the conquest of the raft is worth reading. 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE RED RIVER RAFT 

Stories of floating islands have been told from 
the days of Pliny the Younger, who wrote of a num- 
ber of these in the Lacus Vademonis, near Rome. 
They were covered with reeds and rushes, and 
the sheep grazing upon the borders of the lake 
passed upon them to feed, and were often floated 
away from the shore. Driftwood accumulating 
on the surface of the water formed the founda- 
tion of the.se islands ; deposits of earth and sand 
on the logs made a soil ; seeds were dropped by 
birds and carried by the winds, and after scores 
of years the " islands " were complete. Authorities 
declare that such islands, formed in the large 
rivers and carried out to sea, " have been the 
means of distributing species of the larger animals 
amonp- the islands of the South Pacific, and of 
introducing vegetable life to new localities." 



122 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

It is not generally known that the largest and 
most remarkable formation of this kind was in 
our own land, in the Red River, a tributary of the 
Mississippi. This river, more than seventeen hun- 
dred miles long, was practically closed to naviga- 
tion by a timber raft of enormous extent. Early 
explorers were unable to ascend the stream, and 
later navigators found it necessary to make use 
of a series of bayous and creeks to reach the 
headwaters. 

The raft has been described as " an accumula- 
tion of trees, logs, and drift, extending over the 
surface of the river from bank to bank, and for 
miles in extent, so close and compact as to be 
walked over without wetting the feet. Broom 
straw, willow, and other small bushes are growing 
out of the rich, alluvial earth that covers the logs, 
so that it presents the appearance of an old worn- 
out field that has been abandoned to grow up 
again." 

It has been conjectured that the formation of this 
raft began nearly five centuries ago. The cause, it 
is agreed, was that the waters of the Mississippi, 
being high from a freshet when the Red River was 
low, backed up and made still water at the mouth. 
Driftwood floating downstream was stopped in 
this still water; further accumulations made a 




IK.AklNu AV\ AS 1HI-. KAI' i' 



123 



124 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

solid mass from shore to shore. When the Mis- 
sissippi fell to the level of the Red River, the 
mass became jammed. The banks of the stream 
being heavily wooded, vast quantities of timber 
were added, and the raft grew at the rate of 
about a mile and a half a year. 

As the years passed, the oldest timber rotted, 
and sections of the raft broke away and floated 
down to the Gulf of Mexico. This process of 
decay was not sufficiently rapid to keep pace with 
the additions, and the raft increased in length, 
while gradually receding upstream. This recession 
was so slow that one man said, "If we would wait 
about two hundred years, it would give us navigation 
up to some eight hundred miles above the mouth." 

But it has not been the American custom to 
wait patiently through centuries for the easy 
accomplishment of an important work. It was 
realized that there was too much at stake to falter 
because the difficulties were great. The whole 
Red River country was malarial, because of the 
decaying timber. As the raft grew, settlers were 
driven back, not only by the malaria, but by the 
waters, which overflowed the prairies and made 
of a fertile country a lake from twenty to thirty 
miles long. Houses were deserted, and the devel- 
opment of the region was retarded. 



THE RED RIVER RAFT 125 

When the government engineers, to whom was 
committed the task of removing the obstruction, 
made their prehminary survey in 1833, the raft 
was found to be one hundred and twenty-eight 
miles long, its lower end being about four hun- 
dred miles above the mouth of the stream. Oper- 
ations were begun at once, under the direction of 
Captain Shreve. At first the work was not difficult. 
The lower part of the raft was in such a state of 
decay, and yielded so readily to the grapplings of 
the steamer that about one hundred miles of it was 
pulled away the first season. Good navigation was 
thus established up to Coates' Bluff, now Shreve- 
port, so named for the leader of the expedition. 

The last thirty miles of the obstruction pre- 
sented great difficulties, and the completion of the 
task was much delayed. The timber was solid. 
Axes and saws were used, while nitroglycerin 
and dynamite facilitated the work. The explosives 
were handled with great unwillingness by the 
engineers, who were not accustomed to them. 
Captain Tennyson, in an official report to his 
superior, wrote, " I have been uneasy sometimes 
about dynamite, probably a foolish whim, but put 
it off my boat in December, and refused to use it." 

The raft figures in public documents for many 
years. Appropriation after appropriation was made. 



126 REAL STORIES EROM OUR HISTORY 

Millions of dollars were expended. Finallw in 1873, 
a navigable channel was completed. At once the 
level of water above was lowered fifteen feet. 

Since 1S73 the work has been continued by 
snag boats, which patrol the river and keep it 
clear of obstructions. The banks are stripped of 
all timber which might fall into the stream and 
help to remake the raft. 

When the work of clearing was onlv partially 
completed, a person who knew the country and 
its possibilities wrote, " The greatness of the enter- 
prise w^arrants any trouble in reason it may give 
for a few years to ha\-e a stream with so much of 
future promise kept open and in order." The 
prophecy was made that the fertile lands of the 
valley " would be inhabited by a dense population, 
and its waters freighted with the produce of its 
unlimited fine ranc^e for cattle and hoo's, and also 
with cotton, wheat, and other grains." 

Although the building of railways is responsible 
for the partial inaccuracy of this forecast, yet the 
prophecy has been justified by events. The Red 
River country is settled by thousands who could 
never have made their homes there but for the 
dauntless spirit of American pioneers. 

Sources. Government reports. 

De Bow's Review. New Orleans, 1855. 



Lj JOWJUUA^^UUUA^UaUMUUUX^UAXW 



The next increase in territory of the United States, following 
the Louisiana Purchase, came when the republic of Texas sought 
and gained admission to the Union. 

An observant traveler made it possible for us to know what life 
in the republic was like. 



:rrwr^^ri{r/'^\Yr\rrrwr\rrn^r\^rr\yrr\Yrr\^ 



CHAPTER XX 
A DAY IN THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 

111 1830 the Mexican government, fearing the 
encroachments of foreigners in the northern part 
of the province of Coahuila, known as Texas, for- 
bade further immigration. So the Americans, who 
were tliere in large numbers, were instrumental in 
having a request presented to Santa Anna, presi- 
dent of Mexico, that Texas be organized as a state 
in the Mexican Union. 

The request was refused, and dissatisfaction was 
so great that Texas revolted in 1835. Sam Hous- 
ton, chosen general of the forces in rebellion, suc- 
ceeded in achieving the independence of his people 
at the battle of San Jacinto, in April, 1836, when 
Santa Anna was captured. In October, 1836, Gen- 
eral Houston was elected the first president of the 
republic, which successfully maintained its exist- 
ence until 1845, when it was, at its own urgent 



128 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 



and repeated request, admitted by resolution of 
Congress as one of the United States. 

A visit to the frontier state was made in IMa}', 
1837, by John James Audubon, the naturahst, in 
the course of his rambles in search of birds and 
other specimens in natural history. The account 

of his stay in Galveston, 
and in Houston, the capi- 
tal, as given by him in 
his diary, is not only in- 
teresting reading, but is 
invaluable as furnishing 
one of the few records of 
life in the Lone-Star Re- 
public in its first months 
of struggle. 

Audubon approached 
Galveston by sea and 
thus saw many reminders 
of the war so recently 
ended. " We went ashore at Galveston," he wrote. 
" The only objects of interest we saw were the 
Mexican prisoners ; they are used as slaves — made 
to carrv wood and water, and cut g^rass for the 
horses, and such work ; it is said that some are 
made to draw the plow. \Ye passed through the 
troops and observed the miserable condition of the 




GENERAL SAM HOUSTON 



A DAY IN THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 129 

whole concern — huts made of grass, and a few- 
sticks or sods cut into square pieces composed 
the buildings of the poor Mexican prisoners, who, 
half-clad and half-naked, strolled about in a state 
of apparent inactivity. . . . The soldiers' huts are 
placed in irregular rows, and at unequal distances; 
a dirty blanket or a coarse rug hangs over the en- 
trance in place of a door. No windows w^ere seen, 
except in one or two cabins occupied by Texas 
officers and soldiers." 

The journey to Houston was made in a rain 
storm, so that the first view of the capital was not 
prepossessing. " The Buffalo Bayou had risen 
about six feet, and the neighboring prairies were 
partly covered with water; there was a wild and 
desolate look cast on the surrounding scenery. 
We had already passed two little girls encamped 
on the bank of the bayou, under cover of a few 
clapboards, cooking a scanty meal ; shanties, car- 
goes of hogsheads, barrels, etc., were spread about 
the landing; and Indians, drunk and hallooing, 
were stumbling about in the mud in every direc- 
tion. These poor beings had come here to enter 
into a treaty proposed by the whites. 

"We walked toward the President's house, ac- 
companied by the Secretary of the Navy, and as 
soon as we rose above the bank we saw before us 



I30 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

a level of far-extending prairie, destitute of timber, 
and of rather poor soil. Houses half finished and 
most of them without roofs, tents, and a liberty- 
pole, with the capitol, were all exhibited to our 




THE ALAMO, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 

Here, for three weeks, a small body of Texans resisted a Mexican 
force ten times their number 



view at once. We approached the President's man- 
sion, wading through water above ankles. This 
abode of President Houston is a small log house, 
consisting of two rooms, and a passage through, 
after the Southern fashion. The moment we 



A DAY IN THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 131 

stepped over the threshold, on the right side of the 
passage, we found ourselves ushered into what in 
other countries would be called the ante-chamber; 
the ground floor, however, was muddy and filthy, 
a large fire was burning, a small table covered 
with papers and writing materials was in the 
center, camp beds and trunks were strewn about 
the room. We were at once presented to several 
members of the cabinet, some of whom bore the 
stamp of men of intellectual ability. 

" We amused ourselves by walking to the 
capitol, which was yet without a roof, and the 
floors, benches, and tables of both houses of Con- 
gress were as well saturated with water as our 
clothes had been in the morning. 

" We first caught sight of President Houston 
as he walked from one of the grog shops, where 
he had been to prevent the sale of ardent spirits. 
He was on the way to his house, and wore a large 
gray coarse hat. He was upward of six feet tall, 
and strong in proportion. We reached his abode 
before him, but he soon came, and we were pre- 
sented to His Excellency. He was dressed in a 
fancy velvet coat, and trousers trimmed with broad, 
gold lace ; around his neck was tied a cravat, 
somewhat in the style of Seventy-six. He at once 
removed from the ante-room to his private chamber, 



132 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

which, by the way, was not much cleaner than 
the former. 

" We returned to our boat through a melee of 
Indians and blackguards of all sorts. In giying a 
look back we once more noted a number of horses 
rambling about the grounds, or tied beneath the 
few trees that haye been spared by the ax. We also 
saw a liberty pole, erected on the anniyersary of 
the battle of San Jacinto, on the 21st of last April 
and were informed that a braye tar, who rigged 
the Texan Hag on that occasion, had been per- 
sonally rewarded by President Houston with a 
town lot, a doubloon, and the priyilege of keeping 
a ferry across the Buffalo Bayou." 

It would be interesting to learn what the sailor 
did with his town lot, which he probably yalued 
less than the doubloon or the ferry priyilege. The 
city has deyeloped so rapidly that the present 
owner must hold it at a good figure ; for the Lone- 
Star State has had a maryelous growth since the 
days of Audubon and Houston. Instead of barren 
plains, there are extensiye fields of cotton ; instead 
of an unfinished capitol, one of the most imposing 
edifices in the country; instead of a log cabin for 
the executiye mansion, a goyernor's house that is a 
credit to the state. Eyerywhere are signs of thrift 
and prosperity. 



A DAY IN THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS 133 

What a debt is owed to the pioneers who en- 
dured the hardships and were wilHng to undergo 
difficulties that their successors might enjoy peace 
and prosperity ! 

Source. Mrs. Audubox (Editor). Life of J. J. Audubon. G. P. 
Putnam's Sons, New York. 



k VWXVUXALML,'U!aaL'.aUMk^^AAU^VWX\^^ 



Seven days from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. This was the time 
made by the first stages. They succeeded in covering, according to 
the difficulty of the road, from two to four miles an hour. At 
night the passengers were glad to rest at one of the numerous 
roadside taverns. 



:f/'wn-Y>/A>(rAYyr^^YnYrn^Yn^Y/-^A>nYrr^>7;■-^Yy,-^^ 



CHAPTER XXI 

ON AN OLD STAGE ROAD 

In an old diary, kept by some one whose name 
is not known, there is a curious entry which tells 
something of the difficulties encountered by a 
traveler on the Lancaster Pike in Pennsylvania, 
before the days of railroads. In telling of "a trip 
for pleasure " made over the old road from Lan- 
caster to Philadelphia, he wrote : 

Left Lancaster ... in good spirits, but alas, a sad acci- 
dent had like to have turned our mirth into mourning, for 
W. driving careless and being happily engaged with the lady 
he had the pleasure of riding with, and not mindful enough 
of his charge, drove against a large stump which stood in 
the way, by which the chair was overturned and the lady 
thrown out to a considerable distance, but happily received 
no hurt. About 8 o'clock arrived at Douglass' where supped 
and rested all night. The supper was pretty tolerable, beds 
indifferent, being short of sheets for the beds, the woman 
was good enough to let W. have a tablecloth in lieu of one. 

134 



ON AN OLD STAGE ROAD 



135 



In 1789 a family party took passage on a stage 
of a later line, hoping for a speedy passage from 
Philadelphia to Lancaster. Everything was all 
right until they overtook a husband and wife 
who had been traveling in a chair until the driver 
refused to take them further. Room was made 




AT THE PHILADELPHIA TERMINUS 



for the wife in the stage ; the husband walked 
alongside. The further incidents of the journey 
were related by one of the party in a letter to 
friends. The road was so rough, and the load 
was so heavy, that the axle soon cracked, and the 
stage dropped to the road. Fortunately nobody 
was injured, so the party extricated themselves 



136 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

and "footed it Indian fashion to the nearest inn," 
two miles distant. After eating dinner they per- 
suaded a countiyman to take them on the next 
stage of the journey. " His team proved to be a 
country wagon without springs or cover, with no 
seats other than bundles of lye straw." However, 
all agreed that the wagon was better than walking. 
Finallv, after twelve weary hours, the party suc- 
ceeded in reaching Downey's. 

It was not till 1804 ^^'^^^ ^ regular stage line 
to Philadelphia was operated over the Lancaster 
Pike. As this was the great highway to the 
West, the road had been improved in order that 
the vehicles of all sorts which used it might find 
it passable. The first newspaper announcement of 
the new stage line was quaint: 

PHILADELPHIA & PITTSBURGH MAIL STAGES 

A contract being made with the Postmaster General of 
the L'nited States for the carr}-ing of the mail to and from 
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, in stage wagons, a line of 
stages will be in operation on the first of July next, on 
same route, which line will start from John Tomlinson's 
Spread Eagle, ^Market street, No. 285, Philadelphia, and 
from Thomas Forries, the Fountain Inn, Water street, 
Pittsburgh : and perform the same route in seven days from 
the above places. Passengers must pay S 20.00 each, with 
the privilege of twenty pounds of baggage, all above that 



ON AN OLD STAGE ROAD 137 

weight in baggage sent by above line, to pay at the rate of 
$12.00 per hundred pounds, if the packages are of such 
dimensions as to be admissible to the conveyance . . . 

Printed cards will be distributed, and may be had at the 
proprietors' different stagehouses, giving a full detail of the 
distance and time of arrival at the several towns through 
which the line shall pass. 

N. B. Printers who shall think the above establishment 
a public benefit will please give the same a place in their 
respective papers a few times. 

Philadelphia, June 13, 1804 

The first trip was not made until July 4. At 
eight o'clock in the morning the stage was drawn 
up at the starting point, " the four prancing horses 
with red, white and blue ribbons," according to 
our historian. 

Long before the starting time the mail was in the "boot," 
the straps drawn tight, the booked passengers in their seats, 
while as a last precaution an extra keg of tar was slung to the 
hind axle, the lynchpin examined and the dustproof covers 
fastened on the hubs. Then . , . the driver and the armed 
guard took their places on the box, the lines tightened, the 
whip cracked, and the pioneer mail stage to the West left 
the office among the cheers of the assembled multitude. 

Before long another stage line was established, 
and residents along the road learned to watch 
eagerly for the races between the rivals. 



138 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

The demand for " accommodation stages," which 
would stop to pick up a passenger at any point, 
became so great that this was made a regular 
feature of the service. The fare for way passen- 
gers was fixed at six cents a mile. Express pas- 
sengers used the through coaches, and rejoiced 
that the fare had been reduced to $18.50, because 
of the large increase in travel between the cities. 




MODEL OF PHIL-^DELPHIA AXD PITTSBURGH STAGECOACH 



By 1823 there were eleven lines of stages running 
daily on the eastern section of the road. These 
were known as Berwick, Downington, Harrisburg 
Coaches, Harrisburg Stage, Lancaster Accommo- 
dation, Lancaster Coaches, Lancaster and Pittsburgh 
Mail, ^lifflin and Lewiston via Harrisburg, Phila- 
delphia and Pittsburgh via York, Pittsburgh via 
Harrisburg, and Philadelphia and \Yest Chester. 



ON AN OLD STAGE ROAD 



139 



But coaches were not the only vehicles on the 
busy road. At about the close of the first quarter 
of the century " there was hardly a moment dur- 
ing the twenty-four hours when there was not 
some travel. ... It was a frequent sight to see 
long lines of Conestoga wagons going toward the 





■;;i 


^^M i >'i ■ 1 ■ w / ■ T r ' MlJl ^ " Mr / •' vJy' ^i^^tjflj^ivy 



CONESTOGA WAGON. "PHILADELPHIA TO PITTSBURGH 20 DAYS' 



city loaded with the products of the W^est, or going 
in the opposite direction freighted with the pro- 
ductions of eastern mills or foreign merchandise ; 
their wagons were usually drawn by fine stout 
teams, each horse having on its collar a set of 
bells consisting of different tones, which made 
very singular music as the team trudged along 



I40 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

at the rate of about four miles an hour. Emigrants 
could also frequently be seen on the way, gener- 
ally in companies for mutual assistance, going with 
their families and worldly possessions towards the 
new West." 

Source. Julil'S H. Sachse. The Wayside Inns of the Lancaster 
Roadside. Published by the author, Philadelphia. 



3 



A journey to the West was a great undertaking in the early 
years of the nineteenth century- Think of advancing only ten or 
twelve miles in a day ! Frequently progress was even slower than 
this. Sometimes, when roads were especially bad, it was necessary 
to walk all day long. 



rnmiTyAxy/iTr<"yrruYn>YnYi<nvnw^^^^ 



CHAPTER XXII 

A PIONEER TRAVELER OX THE ROAD 

In 1810 Margaret Dwight, a niece of Timothy 
Dwight, then president of Yale College, decided 
to go from New Haven, Connecticut, to Warren, 
Ohio. She did not think of the trip as a pleasure 
jaunt, for at that day there could have been little 
pleasure in a journey of six hundred miles. But her 
parents were dead, and she was to make her 
home with cousins in the frontier town. Fortu- 
nately she could join a small party of Ohio people 
who were returning home. She kept a journal in 
which she wrote every night the story of the 
day's events. This is now one of the treasures 
of a granddaughter. 

Soon after leaving New Haven Miss Dwight 
met a woman who asked her destination. " You 
bant going to New Connecticut ? " was the as- 
tonished comment when the traveler replied to her 

141 



142 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

question. " Why, what a long journey ! Do you 
ever expect to get there ? They say there 's wild 
Indians there." 

Progress over the rough roads of New Jersey 
was slow. At times only ten or twelve miles were 
made in a day. Once eight miles was the total 
advance in three days. But for the toll roads, 
many of which were kept in fair condition, it 
would not have been possible to go so far. Manv 
nights were spent in taverns where the accommo- 
dations provided were so unpleasant that the 
travelers were eager to start on their way verv 
early in the morning. 

The signboards on the inns amused the young 
traveler. She told of some of these to her friend : 

I saw one in X.J- with Thos. Jeff' n's head and shoulders 
and his name above it — to-day I saw Gen. G. Washington 
— his name underneath — Gen. Putnam riding down the 
steps at Horseneck — one sign was merely three little kegs 
hansins: down one after the other. Thev have the sun 
rising, setting, and a full moon, a new moon, the moon and 
seven stars around her, the lion and unicorn fighting, etc.. 
and eventhing else ever seen or heard of. 

The last dav's ride in northern New Jersey 
was thus described : 

We crossed the longest hills, and the worst road I ever 
saw — two or three times, after riding a little distance on 



A PIONEER TRAVELER ON THE ROAD 143 

the turnpike, we found it fenced across, and were obliged 
to turn into a wood where it was almost impossible to pro- 
ceed — large trees were across, not the road, for there was 
none, but the only place we could possibly ride. It appeared 
to me, we had come to an end of the habitable globe — 
but all these difficulties were at last surmounted, and we 
reached the Delaware. The bridge over it is elegant, I 
think — it is covered and has sixteen windows each side. 




CROSSING THE ALLEGHENIES 



At the end of a hard day on Pennsylvania 
roads the party came to a tavern, but they were 
denied accommodations. They were told of a log 
hut across the road, built for " movers " like them- 
selves, " that the landlord need not be bothered 
with them." They wished to go in search of better 



144 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

accommodations, but, as their horses were tired, 
they decided to make the best of the hut. " We 
have a good fire," the journal explained, " a long, 
dirty table, a few boards nailed up for a closet, a 
dozen long boards in one side and as many barrels 
in the other, two benches to sit on, two bottom- 
less chairs, and a floor containing dirt enough to 
plant potatoes. . . . The man says he has been so 
bothered with movers that he has taken down 
his sign, for he does not need his tavern to live. 
If we had a mind to stay, we might, but if we 
chose to go on he had no objections." 

On the last day before beginning the crossing 
of the Alleghenies the weary tc^velers came to 
an inn where they hoped to have a good rest, in 
preparation for the next day's exertions. " We 
were never so disappointed," Miss D wight wrote. 
" We were put in an old garret that had holes in 
the roof big enough to crawl through — our bed 
was on the floor, harder it appear 'd to me, than 
boards could be — and dirty as possible — a dirty 
feather bed our only covering." 

The mountains were crossed on foot. At first 
the writer of the journal thought it was fun to 
climb mountains, but when she had walked up 
hill and down for several days she changed her 
mind. Once she wrote : " I was so lame and so 



A PIONEER TRAVELER ON THE ROAD 145 

tir'd that for an hour I did not know but I must 
sit down and die — I could not ride — the road 
was so bad, it was worse than walking." Once 
she told of "large stones and deep mud-holes 
every step of the way," adding, "We were obliged 
to walk as much as we possibly could, as the 
horses could hardly stir the wagon, the mud was 
so deep and the stones so large." 

After experience with such roads as this, she 
said she understood at last why so few of the 
many emigrants to Ohio ever returned to the 
East. It was not because the new country was 
so good, but because the roads were so bad. 

She expressed wonder at the number of those 
who were enduring the privations of the way. 
" From what I have seen and heard, I think the 
State of Ohio will be well fill'd before winter. 
Wagons without number every day go on. One 
went on containing forty people — we almost every 
day see them with 18 or 20 — one stopt here 
to-night with 21." 

At last the journey was completed, though it 
required six weeks instead of the four weeks for 
w^hich plans had been made. Miss D wight had 
said good-by to her friends in New Haven on 
October 19, and it w^as December i when she 
reached Warren. 



146 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

Miss Dwight's shoes were worn to shreds by 
the long walks over the mountains and along the 
lowlands, and her clothing was threadbare. She 
declared she would not undertake the return trip 
till " the new turnpike '" was completed. 

Source. Max Ferkaxd (Editor;. A Journey to Ohio in 18 ro, as 
recorded in the Journal of Margaret Dwight. Yale Historical Manu- 
scripts, Yale University Press. 



'-i ^JJXumJMUl}u^x\JlKUJO<^;xuJXKJ ^^ 



Always there were some who felt that it was useless to talk of 
colonizing the West because of the extreme difficulty of traveling ; 
but always there were others who urged that settlers could and 
would find their way to the broad lands in the new country. One 
of the most ardent of these was George Washington. He dreamed 
of a day when the journey to the West would be comparatively 
easy. The story of the Patowmack Canal tells how he tried to 
make his dream come true, in the face of difficulties that to many 
seemed insurmountable. 



7/r^w/^YrAYrnvr^1lYnYr^^ 



CHAPTER XXIII 
GEORGE WASHINGTON, CANAL BUILDER 

During tlie closing years of the eighteenth cen- 
tury and the opening years of the nineteenth 
century, the states of Virginia and Maryland took 
a prominent part in planning for the colonization 
of the s:reat West. And it was larg-ely due to 
George Washington, Virginia's greatest son, that 
plans to this end were made and carried out. 

Even before the treaty of peace with Great 
Britain was signed, Washington was busying him- 
self with plans for the development of the country. 
Once he wrote to the Marquis de Lafayette : 

I have it in contemplation to make a tour thro' all the 
Eastern States, thence into Canada, thence up the St. Law- 
rence and thro' the lakes to Detroit, thence to Lake Michigan 
by land or water, thence thro' the Western Countr}^, by the 

147 



148 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

river Illinois to the river Mississippi ; and down the same to 
New Orleans, thence into Georgia by the way of Pensacola, 
and then thro' the two Carolinas home. A great tour this, 
you will say. 

Although Washington was not able to take 
this tour, he did make several shorter journeys 




) Harris and Ewing, Washington 
ON THE OLD PATOWMACK CANAL 



which opened his eyes more than ever to the 
opportunities for developing water communication. 
He wrote to a friend : 

I could not help taking a more contemplative and ex- 
tensive view of the vast inland navigation of these United 
States, from maps and the information of others ; and could 
not but be struck with the immense diffusion and importance 



WASHINGTON, CANAL BUILDER 149 

of it, and with the goodness of that Providence, which has 
dealt his favors to us with so profuse a hand. Would to 
God we may have wisdom enough to improve them. 

But Washington was not one of those whose 
eyes are so fixed on the distant chances that he 




) Harris and Ewing:, Washington 
WITHIN SIGHT OF WASHINGTON 



was bhnded to those near at hand. When he re- 
turned to his Virginia home, he began to think 
of the Potomac, and the faciHties it would offer, 
if improved, for reaching the Ohio by means of a 
single portage, and so the great West. 

A number of men met and talked of this scheme. 
They found that one great difficulty in their way 



I50 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

was the lack of a thorough understanding between 
Maryland and Virginia as to the regulation of 
navigation on the river. This understanding was 
brought about in 1785 by the Mount Vernon 
compact. As ratified by the state legislatures, it 
has been held by historians to be the origin of 
the call for the constitutional convention of 1787 
in Philadelphia. 

One of the first steps taken to put into effect 
the action of the legislatures was the insertion of 
an advertisement in the Maryland Gazette in 1785: 

PATOWMACK CANAL! 

By virtue of an act of the last General Assembly of 
Maryland . . . notice is hereby given that the laudable 
subscriptions so essentially necessary to accomplish a work 
fraught with such unusual advantages is now opened at 
Annapolis. 

On May 17, 1785, in Alexandria, the Patowiiiack 
Company was organized, Washington being the 
chairman of the meeting held for the purpose. 
In a paper read before the Columbia Historical 
Society of W^ashington, Mrs. Corra Bacon-Foster 
said of this meeting: 

And thus the first incorporation of a company for the 
improvement of our inland waterways was accomplished ; 
its successors have been many, but none have ventured into 



WASHINGTON, CANAL BUILDER 151 

unknown difficulties and perplexities with greater courage 
or higher motives ; their aims were to benefit the remote 
settler, to safeguard the Union and incidentally to plan a 
remunerative investment. 

Work was begun immediately. Before many 
months engineers were busy at Great Falls. That 
those engaged on this early project had their troubles 
with laJDorers may be seen from a report of the 
treasurer of the Patowmack Company : 

Great Falls potowmack July 3d 1786. Sir We have 
Been much Imposed upon the last Two weeks in the powder 
way (we had our Blowers, One Run off the other Blown 
up) we therefore was Obliged to have two new hands put 
to Blowing and there was much attention given to them 
least Axedents should happen yet they used the powder 
Rather too Extravagant, But that was not all they have 
certainly stolen a Considerable Quantity as we have not 
more by us than will last until tomorrow noon. Our hole 
troop is Such Villians that we must for the future give the 
powder into Charge of a person appointed for that purpose 
to measure it to them on the ground by a Charger. — I hope 
you will have it in your power to send us powder here Im- 
mediately. . . . please to send i lb. Salt Petre with the 
powder, we think we Can make matches with it that will 
Save powder. 

At Great Falls the Virginia Legislature let the 
trustees lay off a town to be called Matildaville. 
For fifty years the name was to be seen on 



152 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 



Virginia maps, though the site cannot now be 
accurately determined. 

In December, iSoi, the locks at Great Falls 
were completed. In Februaiy, 1S02, thev were 
opened for business, and for twent\--eight years 
they were in use. The volume of trade and the re- 
ceipts from tolls 
were large. ]\Iany 
visitors from far 
and near came to 
see this greatest 
American engi- 
neering achieve- 
ment of the time. 
All went so well 
that the company 
grew ambitious 
and began the im- 
provement of the 
Shenandoah, the Monocacy, and the Antietam. 
Then difhculties began, and the Pato\\"mack Com- 
pany soon fell on evil days. Lotteries were resorted 
to for the raising of funds, and there were disputes 
and lawsuits about the drawings. Debts hindered 
the progress of the work. The demand for the 
improvement of the river continued, and the use 
of the canals completed became larger year by 





Tr%^ 


H 


BIl- B 


^ 


EI^B^^S^^L^^Jbs n^^H 


■9f- - 


"^^E^J 




s^iJnHI 



OyS COACH 



WASHINGTON, CANAL BUILDER 153 

year, but the Company was not able to meet the 
claims upon it. 

Then came the end. In 1828 the Chesapeake 
and Ohio Canal Company took over the prop- 
erty of the Patowmack Company, and continued 
development according to their own plans. 

The coming of the railroad made the completion 
of the work unnecessary. The canals and locks 
were abandoned. To-day the visitor to Great Falls 
can see the masonry of the great locks, overgrown 
by trees. These locks are so stanch that one is 
compelled to admire the thoroughness and skill 
of those early workers. 

One other reminder of the past is to be seen 
at Great Falls, a bronze tablet in honor of George 
Washington, the first officer of the Patowmack 
Company. 

Source. Mrs. Corra Bacox-Foster. Early Chapters in the De- 
velopment of the Patomac Route to the West. Columbia Historical 
Society, Washington, D. C. 



-< ^ 

? George Washington had his successors who dreamed, as he did, s 

I 

:f<^•Yrrr^Y>^^r\YyAY)</^^Y)r^YYn^Ynw^ 



George Washington had his successors who dreamed, as he did, 
of canals that would make easy the way to the West. Travel by 
the waterways they built was slow, but it was so sure that for 
twenty years the packet boats on some of the canals were popular 
means of transportation. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

WHEN THE CANAL WAS IN ITS GLORY 

The pioneers rejoiced when they could n^ake use 
of the rivers, for it was much easier to tra\-el b)' 
water than by the miserable roads of the day. Yet 
rivers did not always flow in the desired direction. 

What was to be done ? Fhe question was asked 
and answered bv far-seeing men who wanted to 
help in the development of the country, or who 
wanted to make money, or both. They would dig 
artificial rivers. They would follow the example of 
George Washington bv l^uilding canals as he had 
built the Potomac Canal. 

The first experiments in canal building were so 
successful that before many years the East was 
gridironed by a series of canals. New York and 
Pennsylvania were leaders in the construction. 
The Erie Canal, from Albany to Buffalo, was 
authorized in 1S17, and was finished in 1825. 

•54 



WHEN THE CANAL WAS IN ITS GLORY 155 

The next year Pennsylvania began her systern of 
artificial waterways. In 1825 Ohio began her first 
great canal, and in 1832 Indiana made her initial 
experiment. 

The Erie Canal was the most successful of these 
waterways. It offered the easiest method of trans- 
portation to those who wished to go to northern 
Ohio, for when the first stage of the journey ended 
at Buffalo they were able to take passage on the 
fairly comfortable lake boats to a point near their 
destination. The canal trip was usually made on 
boats which, on the trip from Buffalo to New 
York, were used for freight transportation, while 
on the return trip to Buffalo they were packed 
with the household goods, machinery, cattle, and 
families of those who dreamed of new homes in 
the West. The passengers were glad to pay the 
cent and a half a mile which was the customary 
fee demanded. 

The canal boat was a curious structure, about 
eighty feet long and twelve feet wide. On the deck 
was a cabin, in which were cramped sleeping quar- 
ters. The bunks were folded out of sight in the 
daytime, that room might be made for the long 
table at which the travelers ate. 

The boats were drawn by three or four horses 
or mules, which were hitched to about two hundred 



156 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 




feet of tow line. 
It has been es- 
timated that at 
one time there 
were as many 
as sixteen thou- 
sand animals in 
use on the Erie 
Canal, and that 
there must have 
been fifty thou- 
sand horses and 
mules on all the 
canals. 

The driver was, 
usually, a mere 
boy. Many driv- 
ers were only 
ten years old. 
The towpath be- 
came a refuge 
for orphans, who 
eagerly adopted 
this method of 
earning ten dol- 
lars a month and 
board. 



WHEN THE CANAL WAS IN ITS GLORY 157 

While the speed of these boats was sometimes 
as great as four miles an hour, the average speed 
for the day was much less. Stops were frequent, 
and passage through the locks, by means of which 
a higher or a lower level was reached, was made 
at great cost of time. A mile and a half an hour 
was considered a good average speed. The possi- 
bilities of such rapid travel were shown by Colonel 
William T. Stone, one of the editors of the New 
York Commercial, who wrote of a trip made to the 
West in 1829. Of one day's adventure he said: 

Stepping ashore to look about a little, while the boat 
stopped to water the horses, I was surprised to find on turn- 
ing around that the boat was off, and a bend in the canal 
had thrown it out of sight as if by magic. I lost some 
moments in a vain endeavor to get a horse to follow on, 
but was compelled to test my own speed, which, hindered 
with a heavy overcoat and an asthmatic affliction, was not of 
the fleetest. However, after running about a mile, I came 
near enough to hail the boat. 

A traveler who made a trip on the Erie Canal 
in 1825 gave another laughable picture of this 
primitive transportation system : 

One of the greatest inconveniences in traveling on the 
canal is the frequency and lowness of the bridges ; under 
most of these the boat has just room to rub. If passengers 
are standing upon the deck, with their backs to the bridge, 
they are liable to be swept off or crushed to pieces. Several 



158 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

accidents of this kind have already happened, and would 
occur daily, had not the danger rendered it a part of the 
helmsman's duty to give notice when the boat is approaching 
a bridge. Those who are expert, leap the barrier, jumping up 
on one side and off at the other, while others hurry below, 
sometimes with all possible dispatch and even then not without 
losing a hat. Measures are taken to correct this inconvenience 
by elevating the bridges several feet above the highest decks. 




THE IRON STEAMBOAT K. E. STOCKTON 



Travelers who were willing to pa)' an extra rate 
of fare traveled by limited packet boats, which 
made few stops and thus were able to make an 
average distance of something like the four miles 
which the state law allowed. Greater speed was 
not permitted because it was found that when 
boats moved faster, the wash set up caused the 
banks of the canal to crumble. The usual time 



WHEN THE CANAL WAS IN ITS GLORY 159 

required for tlie journey from Albany to Buffalo 
was six or seven da}'s, though there is record of 
a journey which required l^ut fixe days and a half. 
An Albany newspaper spoke of this in terms of 
wonder as a " Quick Passage." 

Fanny Kemble, the actress, in her journal, pulj- 
lished in Philadelphia in 1835, told of a trip she 
made on an Erie Canal packet boat in 1833. 
She said : 

I like traveling by the canal boats very much. Ours was 
not crowded, and the country through which we passed being 
delightful, the placid moderate gliding through it at the rate 
of about four miles and a half an hour seemed to me infi- 
nitely preferable to the noise of wheels, the rumble of a coach 
and the jerking of bad roads, for the gain of half a mile 
an hour. 

To Miss Martineau, the English traveler, canal 
travel did not seem so delightful as to Miss Kemble, 
She said : 

I would not advise ladies to travel by canal. . . . On fine 
days it is pleasant enough sitting outside (except for having to 
duck under bridges every quarter of an hour) and in dark eve- 
nings the approach of the boat lights on the water is a prett\- 
sight ; but the horrors of night and wet da}-s more than 
compensate for all the advantages these vehicles can boast. 

As a contrast to this dismal picture, we have 
the assurance given by Miss Caroline Spencer, in 



i6o REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

an article in the Magazine of American History, 
published in 1SS9, that in 1S35 she found the 
boat exceedingly pleasant. 

It seemed such a relief from the hot breathing steam- 
boat and the close, hurried railroad car. . , . The windows 
of the boat are sufficiently large to make the \-iew pleasant 
from them ; and as you ride along through the most rich 
and delightful country whose banks touch the sides of the 
boat, you almost fancy yourself in fair\- land. 

But comparatively few of those who used the 
canals were able to travel for pleasure. Most of 
them had serious business before them ; for tens 
of thousands this business was the carding of a 
home from the Western wilderness, to which they 
were traveling at ''' a mile and a half an hour for 
a cent and a half a mile." 

Sources. Noble E. Whitford, C. E. History of the Canals of the 
State of New York. (Printed as a supplement to the State Engineers' 
Report of 1905.) 

David L. Buck-MAX. Tow-path and Packet Days. (^Unpublished 
manuscript.) 



'^^^. — II 

The vision of the West that must be built up was constantly be- ? 

fore the eyes of far-seeing statesmen. Realizing that something C 

more than canals would be necessary for the transportation of set- ^ 

tiers who sought the new country, they made the daring plan of a p 

highway a thousand miles long. J 



1'rwr^yr ^niyn^r\rr-nrrr\rfrMrwr\Yrr\Yr.-\Y}r^^^ 



CHAPTER XXV 

THE GREAT NATIONAL ROAD 

Many American young people have never heard 
of the old National Road. In fact, many of the 
older generation have forgotten this wonderful 
engineering triumph of the early years of the last 
century. In this age of railroads, trolley lines, tel- 
egraphs, and telephones, we sometimes think that 
there were no really great works during the days 
of our grandfathers, and earlier. 

But the traveler in Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, 
or Pennsylvania, who passes over one of the massive 
bridges or along the still solid bed of the National 
Road, must change his mind. Interest leading to 
inquiry, he will learn that he has seen a section 
of " the longest straight road ever built in the 
world," a road which " for seven hundred miles 
marks the course of the Star of Empire in its 
advance" from the East to Indiana. 

i6i 



i62 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

Archer Butler Hulbert says of the road: 

When the West was in its teens and began suddenly 
outstripping itself, to the marvel of the world, one of the 
momentous factors in its progress was the building of a 
great road from the Potomac to the Mississippi, by the 
United States government. This was one of the most 
important steps in that movement of national expansion 
which followed the conquest of the West. It is probably 
impossible for us to realize fully what it meant to this 
West when that vanguard of surveyors came along the 
western slope of the Alleghenies, hewing a thoroughfare 
which should, in one generation, bind distant and half- 
acquainted States together in bonds of common interest, 
sympathy and ambition. Until that day travelers spoke of 
"going into" and "coming out of" the West as though 
it were the Mammoth Cave. Such were the difficulties of 
travel that it was commonly said, despite the dangers of 
life in the unconquered land, if pioneers could live to get 
into the West, nothing could, thereafter, daunt them. The 
growth and prosperity of the West were impossible until 
the dawning of such convictions as those which made the 
National Road a reality. 

The road was called into being by the neces- 
sities of hardy settlers who had pushed into the 
Ohio country. In 1802 Congress passed the en- 
abling act by which, a little later, Ohio entered 
the Union. A provision of this act was that five 
per cent of the net proceeds from the sale of pub- 
lic lands within the state should be devoted to 



THE GREAT NATIONAL ROAD 163 

building public roads, under the authority of Con- 
gress. In 1806 Albert Gallatin, who conceived the 
National Road, succeeded in having commissioners 
appointed by President Jefferson to report on the 




MAIL COACH, WASHINGTON TO COLUMBUS 

feasibility of the project. Almost immediately it 
was determined to be2!:in work. Cumberland, Marv- 
land, was fixed as the starting point. Thence the 
road was to run to Uniontown and Washington, 
Pennsylvania. Wheeling, W^est Virginia, and Steu- 
benville, Ohio, were eager claimants for the crossing 



1 64 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

of the Ohio River. Through the influence of Henry- 
Clay, WheeUng won in the contest, and a statue, 
erected to his memory in gratitude for this serv- 
ice, stands to-day by the side of the road in Ehii 
Grove, five miles from Wheeling. 

The first contracts, for ten miles leading out of 
Cumberland, were signed in 1811. Six years later 
Uniontown was reached. The first mail coaches 
ran through from Washington to Wheeling in 
1 8 18. The construction was at first somewhat 
flimsy, but later the entire road was built of the 
best macadam and was then handed over to the 
states through which it passed. Toll gates were 
set up, and the income was used for repairs. 

In 1820 Congress appropriated $20,000 for the 
survey from Wheeling to the Mississippi River. 
In 1825 the first appropriation for road building 
in this section was made. In 1833 Columbus, 
Ohio, was reached. Indianapolis soon after became 
the center of operations. The original intention 
to build to the Mississippi River was modified 
upon the introduction of railroads. For a time 
Congress debated whether it would not be wise to 
make the last section of the great work a railroad 
rather than a turnpike. Final decision, however, 
was against the change. But years had passed, 
there was not so much necessity for a road, and 



THE GREAT NATIONAL ROAD 



165 



the grading of the bed was the only work done 
in Illinois. The grading was completed as far as 
Vandalia, at that time the capital, for, according 
to law, the road was to pass through the capitals 
of all the states touched west of the Ohio River. 




ONE OF THE MASSIVE BRIDGES 
Reproduced by permission of the Philadelphia Commercial Museum 

The final appropriation was made in 1844, on 
account of a survey to Jefferson City, Missouri. 
The total amount expended was nearly $7,000,000, 
an average of $10,000 per mile. 

The road never paid expenses. The receipts for 
many years were large, but the expenses were still 
larger. In forty-seven years Ohio collected nearly 
a million and a quarter dollars in tolls. The yearly 



1 66 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

expense of repairs was nearly one hundred thou- 
sand dollars, while the greatest amount collected 
in any one year was $62,496. As early as 1832 
the governor of Ohio was authorized to borrow 
money to repair the road in that state. 

But this financial failure was not a disappoint- 
ment. It was not the idea of the statesmen of the 
early nineteenth century to build a money-making 
highway. Their aim was to help the West. In 
this they succeeded. During the generation when 
the road was the only means of transportation for 
immigrants, the population of Ohio, Indiana, and 
Illinois increased from 783,635 to 3,620,314. This 
increase was many times as rapid as that of other 
states during the same period. 

Those were the da\s when the stagecoach was 
in its glory. There were many lines in operation 
over all divisions of the turnpike. Some of the 
earlier coaches were quite primitiv^e, but improve- 
ments were rapidly made, and rival lines vied with 
each other in providing the best equipment. The 
OJiio State Joitnial of August 12, 1837, gave the 
following description of "A Splendid Coach": 

We have looked at a Coach now finishing off in the shop 
of Messrs. Evans and Finney, for the Ohio Stage Company, 
and intended we believe for the inspection of the Fostmaster 
General, wlio some time since offered premiums for models of 



THE GREAT NATIONAL ROAD 167 

the most approved construction, which is certainly one of the 
most perfect and splendid specimens of workmanship in this 
line that we have ever beheld, and would be a credit to any 
Coach Manufactory in the United States. It is aimed, in 
the construction, to secure the mail in the safest manner 
possible, under lock and key, and to accommodate three out- 
side passengers, under a comfortable and complete protec- 
tion from the weather. It is worth going to see. 

Ten miles an liour was the recognized rate of 
travel. On special occasions much greater speed 
was made. In 1837 Van Buren's message was 
carried eighty-seven miles in two hundred and 
twenty-six minutes. In the same year regular mails 
were carried from Washington to Wheeling in 
thirty hours; to Indianapolis in sixty-five hours; 
to St. Louis in ninety-four hours. 

But the railroads came, and the fortunes of the 
road declined. It had served its purpose. To-day 
some sections are neglected, owing to the care- 
lessness and indifference of county officials. Still 
other sections are as solid and substantial as ever. 
In West Virginia and Pennsylvania and parts of 
Ohio " the pike " is still the pride of the people. 

There are many relics of its greatness. Mile- 
stones, iron in the East, stone in Ohio, are still 
standing. Old taverns are here and there along the 
way. What tales they might tell of the gay parties 



1 68 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

which ate and slept within their walls ! Team- 
sters' lodging houses are falling into decay. But 
the massive stone arch bridges stand, and will stand 
for many years. "It is doubtful if there are on the 
continent such monumental relics of the old stone 
bridge builder's art," one engineer says. During 
a flood in West Virginia, some years ago, a great 
iron railroad bridge was carried from its founda- 
tions, and swept downstream to the old S-bridge 
near Wheeling. The stone bridge stood the test 
of the great impact. The iron beams were bent 
and twisted, and finally were swept through the 
arches and down the stream. 
One historian says : 

Were these relics all gathered together — from Indiana, 
and Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and Virginia, and Maryland 
— and cemented into a monstrous pyramid, the pile would 
not be inappropriate to preserve the name and fame of a 
highway which, as Everett said, ' ' carried thousands of 
population and millions of wealth into the West, and, more 
than any other material structure in the land, served to 
harmonize and strengthen, if not to save, the Union," 

Sou)xe. Archer Butler Hulbert. Historic Highways, Vol. X, 
"The Cumberland Road." A. H. Clark, Cleveland, Ohio. 



'-i ^J^xuJxuJAUVU^x\J^UJx\JAKyJJxvJJxyJJ^^ 






There came a day when settlers wished to go far beyond the 
territory opened up by the great National Road. As early as 1846 
many people were lured to the Pacific coast by wonderful tales of 
the delights of that region. They knew they would have to cross a 
trackless wilderness to reach the land of their dreams, but the 
thought did not deter them. 

The story told by a survivor of a famous party which made the 
overland journey gives a vivid picture of the perils braved by those 
who sought the West. 



/^rnYrnvrAorwrnrrr^^^ 



CHAPTER XXVI 

ACROSS THE PLAINS IN 1846 
I. The Journey 

Before the days of railroads, those who made the 
overland trip to California suffered untold hard- 
ships. Thousands perished from hunger and ex- 
posure, or were killed by the Indians. A graphic 
picture of the sufferings of these hardy Western 
pioneers is given in the story of the ill-fated 
Donner party. 

The central figure in the story is a little girl 
named Eliza Donner. She was less than four years 
old when her adventures began, but many of the 
events were impressed on her memory so indel- 
ibly that when she was nearly seventy years old 

she told them for the boys and girls of to-day. 

169 



I70 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

Eliza Donner lived with her parents and four 
sisters, one younger and three older than herself, on 
a farm near Springfield, Illinois. One day in the 
spring of 1846 she learned that her father and her 
mother had decided to move to California, Such a 
journey was not so easy a matter as it is in this 
day of railroads. For many hundreds of miles of 
the way there w^as not even a wagon road. Roving 
Indians were everywhere. California was then a 
part of Mexico. Yet when the Donners decided 
to make the five months' journey, seven of their 
neighbors asked permission to go with them. In 
all, thirty-two persons agreed to share the dangers 
of the plains. 

Eliza was much interested in the preparations 
for the journey. She saw three big white-covered 
wagons brought into the yard, and watched her 
parents as they loaded them. In one wagon they 
placed seed and farming implements for their own 
use in California, as well as laces, muslins, satins, 
and velvets which they hoped to trade for land. 
The second wagon held the supplies of food and 
clothing for the journey, as well as the tents and 
other things to be used in camp, and the bright- 
colored garments, beads, necklaces, looking-glasses, 
and so forth, with which unfriendly Indians were 
to be appeased. The third wagon was to be the 



ACROSS THE PLAINS IN 1846 



171 



family home on wheels. Each wagon was to be 
drawn by three yoke of sturdy oxen. Three extra 
yoke of oxen, five saddle horses, beef cattle, and 
a dog were to follow the wagons. 

It was a happy moment for Eliza and her sisters 
when the signal was given to start. They wondered 




PIONEERS ON THE PLAINS 



why there were tears in their mother's eyes as they 
left the old home and passed the familiar orchards 
and the fields beyond. 

The first weeks passed pleasantly. Everything 
seemed so strange. By the time the journey began 
to be monotonous, other wagons joined the party, 
and there was great excitement for the Donner girls 



172 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

as they made the acquaintance of other boys and 
girls. During the evening hours in camp, and in 
the morning before the early start, the young 
people would have pleasant times together on the 
prairies, though they were warned not to go far 
from camp, because Indians might be near. At 
noon there would be another brief interval for 
play, after the company had eaten dinner in picnic 
style on the grass. 

The loneliness of the days was frequently re- 
lieved by messages from others who had traveled 
across the plains before them. Some of these mes- 
sages came by the hands of trappers and traders 
who were on their way to the East. More often 
they were penciled on the skulls of animals lying 
on the prairie, or on the trunks of trees from 
which a patch of bark had been cut. When neither 
trees nor skulls were near, those who wished to 
leave a message would write a note and fasten it 
in a cleft stick driven into the ground. 

Travelers were accustomed to watch for such 
messages. When they were uncertain about the 
way, they usually found something to guide them. 
One day, however, they looked in vain, until some 
one caught sight of a guideboard. The disappoint- 
ment of all can be imagined when examination 
showed that the note which had been pasted to 



ACROSS THE PLAINS IN 1846 173 

the board had been torn into bits. Evidently tiie 
crows had pecked the paper to pieces. Nobody 
knew what to do till Mrs. Uonner began to hunt 
for pieces of paper on the ground, where the birds 
had dropped them. Others helped her. When they 
had as many bits as could be discovered in the 
tall grass, she slowly fitted them together on the 
guideboard, as a child matches the pieces of a 
picture puzzle. At last she was able to spell 
out the words : 

2 days — 2 nights — hard driving — cross — desert — 
reach water. 

The Donner party was at this time in a beauti- 
ful valley where there were twenty natural wells, 
and so it was decided to remain in camp until 
the oxen were thoroughly rested. Then, taking all 
the water they could carry, they started across the 
desert. The trip required twice the time the note 
had said. Before the next valley was reached, the 
wood of some of the wagons shrank till the vehicles 
were useless and had to be abandoned. Every one 
in the party suffered from thirst, and many of the 
oxen perished from lack of water. 

There were other delays. Some of the notes left 
for their guidance led them astray. Once they 
were thirty days in making a part of the journey 



174 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

that should have required but twelve days. At 
another time the men made a road across eight 
miles of rocky country, only to find that they had 
to go back and start another way. These de- 
lays made the food supply short, and everybody 




AT THE END OF THE DAY 



was hungry. But all were willing to bear the 
hardships, for California seemed near, and when 
they reached the sunny land there would be plenty 
to eat and drink. 

Then there was an accident that chano;ed all 
their dreams. Eliza and her sister Georgia were 
asleep in the wagon while their father walked 



ACROSS THE PLAINS IN 1846 175 

beside it down a steep hill. Near the end of the 
incline the front axle broke, and the wagon tipped 
over, spilling the contents, the two girls under- 
neath. Mr. Donner rushed to the rescue, and soon 
succeeded in freeing Georgia through the open- 
in o- at the back of the wa^on cover. Eliza was 
out of sight. Fearful that she might be crushed 
or smothered, Mr. Donner worked feverishly. At 
last the girl was found. Nothing was wrong with 
her but a bad fright. 

The accident had other consequences, however. 
Mr. Donner injured his hand while making repairs. 
Then so many hours were wasted that it was im- 
possible to cross the summit of the Sierras before 
the first great snowfall of the season. The party 
tried to go on, but they were soon unable to move. 
Some of the wagons, w-hich were further along the 
way, managed to push through ; but the Donners 
and a few of their friends, twenty-one in all, were 
at the mercy of the storm. The men and women 
were dismayed at their situation. The children 
did not realize their danger at first, but the grave 
faces of their parents and friends soon made them 
feel that something was wrong. 

They were stranded in the snow near the sum- 
mit of the cold mountain. They had no shelter, 
they had little food, and it might be many weeks 



176 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

before they could push on to the valley. Their 
only hope was that some of the party who already 
had reached the valley would send assistance to 
them in season. 

II, Starving in the Snow 

Eliza Donner never forgot that first day and 
night in the snow in the lonely mountain valley. 
The day was spent by the men in felling and 
trimming trees. A beginning had been made on a 
log cabin, when darkness put a stop to the work. 
The moon was shining when the weary pilgrims 
went to bed, but during the night there was a 
heavy snowstorm. 

The snowfall made necessary a change of plans. 
Instead of finishing the log cabin, the tent was 
pitched on a cleared space, under a pine tree, and 
an Indian guide showed the men how to enlarge 
this shelter by a rude hut of poles and boughs. 
On the framework were laid pieces of cloth, old 
quilts, and buffalo robes, as well as pine boughs. 
In a hollow scraped out under the tree a fire 
was built. 

While the work M'as going on there was no shel- 
ter for Eliza and Georgia. " Mother tucked a buf- 
falo robe around us," Eliza wrote, " saying, ' Sit here 
until we have a better place for you.' There we 



ACROSS THE PLAINS IN 1846 



177 



sat snug and dry, chatting and twisting our heads 
about, watching the hurrying, anxious workers." 

Before the shelter was finished the snow was 
falHng once more, gathering in a ridge beside the 
children on the log, and nestling in piles under 
the buffalo robe. They were glad of the call to 




A REST BV THE WAY 



enter the hut. There, after warming themselves 
at the fire under the tree, and eating their meager 
supper, they crept into the bed, which was made 
of boughs laid on posts. 

For eight days the snowfall continued. Mr. Don- 
ner kept up his courage, in spite of his crippled 
hand, leading in the work of gathering fuel, and 
doing all he could to make others hopeful. Many 



178 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

of the cattle froze to cleatli. The places where 
their bodies lay were marked, that they might be 
found later, as they were required for food. But 
the snow covered them out of sight, and few 
could be found. The men would prod in the 
snow with long stakes, but they seldom discov- 
ered what they sought. 

Food became so scarce that " the little field 
mice that had crept into the camp were caught 
and then used to ease the pangs of hunger. Pieces 
of beef hide were cut into strips, singed, scraped, 
boiled to the consistency of glue and swallowed 
with an effort. Marrowless bones that already 
had been boiled and scraped were now burned 
and eaten, even the bark and twigs of pine were 
chewed in the vain effort to soothe the gnawings 
which made one cry for bread and meat." 

The wanderers were not only hungry, they were 
cold. " We little ones were kept in bed," Eliza 
says. " My place was always in the middle, where 
Frances and Georgia, snuggling up close, gave 
me of their warmth." 

So the days dragged along for more than two 
months. " By the middle of January the snow 
measured twelve and fourteen feet in depth. Noth- 
ing could be seen of our abode except the coils 
of smoke that found their way up through the 



ACROSS THE PLAINS IN 1846 179 

opening. There was a dcartli of water. The creek 
was frozen over and covered with snow. Icicles 
hung from the brandies of every tree. The stock 
of pine cones that had been gatliered for hght was 
ahiiost consumed. Wood was so scarce that we 
coukl not have fire enough to cook our strips 
of rawhide, and Georgia heard mother say that 
we children had not had a dry garment on for 
more than a week, and that she did not know 
what to do about it. Then, like a smile from 
God, came another sunny day w'hich not only 
warmed and dried us thorousfhlv, but furnished 
a supply of w^ater from dripping snow banks." 

Every day they looked anxiously for the com- 
ing of relief in response to the pleas of a number 
who had pushed on in the face of almost certain 
death. The Indian guide would climb to the top 
of a tall pine tree and look intently for a moving 
speck in the distance. At last, about the twentieth 
of February, he saw somebody coming. Soon seven 
men were in the camp. 

These men told how they had started with a num- 
ber of others, and how they had been compelled to 
leave by the way most of the supplies they carried 
with them. Small quantities of flour were carefully 
measured out, together with a little jerked beef and 
two small biscuits for each of the famishing people. 



i8o REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

Wlicn the rescuers started back to the valley, 
they took with them four of the Donner party, 
including two of Eliza's sisters. Those who re- 
mained were told to look for the coming of other 
rescuers who were on the way. 

Again began the days of weary waiting. Food 
was scarcer than ever. Mr. Donner's hand grew 
worse and he became weaker. Mrs. Donner did her 
best to keep up the courage of the children. Eliza 
says, " Often while knitting or sewing she held us 
spellbound with wondrous tales of 'Joseph in Egypt,' 
or ' Daniel in the lions' den ' or ' Elijah healing the 
widow's son,' and of the tender, loving Master who 
took children in his arms and blessed them." 

Eliza wrote thus of the failing food supply : 

The last food which I remember seeing in our camp 
before the arrival of the Second Relief was a thin mold of 
tallow which mother had tried out of the trimmings of the 
jerked beef brought by the First Relief. She had let it 
harden in a pan, and after all other rations had given out, 
she cut daily from it three small white squares for each of 
us, and we nibbled off the four corners very slowly and then 
around and around the edges of the precious pieces until 
they became too small for us to hold between our fingers. 

Ten days passed. Then came the second relief 
party. There were only ten men in the part)', 
and they, too, had left on the way most of the 



ACROSS THE PLAINS IN 1846 i8i 

provisions witli wliich they liad started, so that these 
might be eaten on the way back. After giving the 
survivors in camp a small supply of food, they were 
ready to return to the valley. Mr. Donner was so 
weak from his wound that he was unable to go with 
them. He begged Mrs. Donner to leave him with 
the children. She would not desert him, but offered 
three of the men five hundred dollars if they would 
take Eliza and her little sisters to a place of safety. 
When they agreed, she gave them a parcel con- 
taining a few keepsakes, with a little clothing that 
might prove useful to the girls in later years. 
Then she made what preparation she could for 
their future. When she had put on their cloaks 
and hoods, she said to them, " I may never see 
you again, but God will take care of you." 
In her account of that sad day Eliza wrote: 

Frances was six years and eight months old and could 
trudge along quite bravely, but Georgia, who was little more 
than five, and I, lacking a week of four years, could not do 
well on the heavy trail, and soon we were taken up and 
carried. After traveling some distance the men left us sit- 
ting on a blanket upon the snow, and went ahead a short 
distance, when they stopped and talked earnestly. We 
watched them, trembling lest they leave us there to freeze. 
Then T^rances said : " Don't feel afraid. If they go off and 
leave us I can lead you back to mother by our footprints on 
the snow." 



i82 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

Evidently the men were weary of their charges ; 
they seemed to fear that they could not get to 
the valley if they were burdened with the little 
ones. But they were not cruel enough to leave 
them in the snow ; they carried them to a cabin 
not far away where others of the snowbound party 
were waiting for deliverance. 

It was dark when the children entered the poor 
shelter. There was no welcome for them, but they 
were told to lie on a bed of branches on the ground. 
For a long time they could not go to sleep ; other 
children in the cabin made their presence known 
by the pitiful plea, often repeated : " Give me some 
bread. Oh, give me some meat ! " 

Eliza and her sisters huddled close on their bed 
of branches, their arms tightly clasped around each 
other, and so, at last, they fell asleep. 

III. Finding a Home 

Days passed in the dark cabin. The snow fell 
drearily. Hunger was a constant guest. One day 
a little girl from a neighboring hut came in, bear- 
ing a number of biscuits which had been baked 
in the ashes. There was one for everybody in the 
cabin. " Few can know how delicious those bis- 
cuits tasted, and how carefully we caught each 
dropping crumb," Eliza wrote of the event. 



ACROSS THE PLAINS IN 1846 183 

Another day there was a cry from a boy who 
stood on the snow above the cabin to see if any 
help were coming: 

I see — a woman — on snowshoes — coming from the 
camp ! She 's a Httle woman — Hke Mrs. Donner. She is 
now looking this way — and may pass ! 

Mrs. Donner heard the call of the frantic boy, 
and in a few moments she was with her children. 
She had heard that they were in the cabin, and 
had pushed her way over the snow. She told the 
children that there was still a half biscuit left from 
the supplies brought by the second relief party. 
Eliza tells the thoughts that biscuit brought to 
her mind : 

How big that half biscuit seemed to me ! I wondered 
why she had not brought at least part of it to us. I could 
see that broken half biscuit, with its ragged edges, and knew 
that if I had a piece, I would nibble off the rough points 
first. The longer I waited the more I wanted it. Finally I 
slipped my arms around my mother's neck, drew her 
face close to mine and whispered, "What are you going to 
do with that half biscuit you saved ? " When Mrs. Donner 
answered, " I am keeping it for your sick father," Eliza 
was satisfied. 

At last the third relief party came. Mrs. Don- 
ner asked the leader of the little company if he 
would take her children to safety. He said he 



1 84 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

would cither save them or die with them on the 
trail. Once more the mother said good-by to them 
and went back to the husband who was so soon 
to close his eyes in the sleep that would make 
him forget pain and hunger. She would stay with 
him to the end. She did as she said she would; 
and a little later she too fell asleep in the snow 
and woke where there is no more hunger and no 
more cold. 

The children were again dressed to start on their 
journey over the snow. Eliza has described their 
appearance : 

Georgia and I were clad in quilted petticoats, linsey 
dresses, woolen stockings and well-worn shoes. Our cloaks 
were of a twilled material, garnet, with a white thread inter- 
woven, and we had knitted hoods to match. Frances's cloth- 
ing was as warm ; instead of a cloak, however, she wore a 
shawl, and her hood was bhie. Her shoes had been eaten 
by our starving dog before he disappeared, and as all others 
were buried out of reach, mother had substituted a pair of 
her own in their stead. 

The way was rough. Snowdrifts were on every 
side. Icy ridges were to be crossed, where to slip 
or fall might mean death in the yawning depth 
below. The men were unable to carry the chil- 
dren all the time, and it was necessary for them 
to struggle on as best they could. Eliza stumbled so 



ACROSS THE PLAINS IN 1846 



185 



mucli that one of tlic men put her hi his blanket 
on his back and carried lier as the Indian mother 
carries her child. 

After going some distance a package was picked 
up. This was opened that evening beside the camp 




■■ WESTWARD THE COIKSI'; ol' K.MIMRK TAkKS ITS WAV" 
From the painting in the rotunda of the Capitol at Washington 

fire. It was found to contain the keepsakes and 
clothing delivered with the children to the men 
of the second relief party, who later deserted them. 
As the clothing of the little girls was the worse 
for wear, it was decided to dress them in the fresh 



1 86 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

underwear and the silk dresses in the package. 
Eliza's account of the fitting of the dresses to the 
little owners is worth reading : 

Mr. Thompson pulled out the same sharp pocketknife, 
coarse black thread, and big-eyed needle, which he had 
used the previous evening, while making Frances a pair of 
moccasins out of his own gauntlet gloves. With the help of 
Mr. Eddy, he then ripped out the sleeves, cut the waists off 
about an inch above the skirt gathers, cut slits in the skirts 
for armholes, and tacked in the sleeves. Then, with mother's 
wish in mind, they put the dove-colored silk on Frances, the 
light-brown on Georgia and the dark coffee-brown on me. 
Plaits and laps in the skirt bands were necessary to fit them 
to our necks. Strings were tied around our waists, and the 
skirts tacked up until they were walking length. These 
ample robes served for cloaks as well as dresses, for we 
could easily draw our hands back through the sleeves and 
keep our arms warm beneath the folds. Thus comfortably 
clad, we began another day's journey. 

Days passed before the Sacramento Valley was 
reached. A woman they saw at the first house 
in the valley was kind to Eliza till she saw the 
silk dress she wore. Then her cupidity got the 
better of her kindness. She took the dress, ex- 
changing it for an outgrown garment belonging 
to her own little girl, which was far too small for 
Eliza. To a companion she whispered, " This will 
make two for my little girl." 



ACROSS THE PLAINS IN 1846 187 

At the next house real kindness was shown 
the party. The woman who hved there gave the 
cliildren bread and milk for supper. Then, having 
no bed for them, she loosened one corner of the 
rag carpet and }mt fresh straw on the floor. On 
this she placed the weary children. Then the 
carpet was tucked securely about them in place 
of quilts. 

A little further on the party came to Sutter's 
Fort, where the first discovery of gold was soon 
afterwards made. There they found many kind 
people, most of them women and children ; the 
men were away with Fremont, serving in the Mex- 
ican War. On account of their absence food was 
scarce, but the children shared with the boys and 
girls at the fort. One of these boys was especially 
kind to Eliza. He knew by sad experience what 
it meant to be hungry, so he came to her one 
day and whispered-: 

See here, little gal, you run get that little tin cup of 
yourn, and when you see me come out of Mrs. VVimmer's 
house with the milk pail on my arm, you go round yonder 
to the tother side of the cow pen, where you '11 find a hole 
big enough to put the cup through. Then you can watch 
me milk it full . of the nicest milk you ever tasted. You 
needn't say nothing to nobody about it. I gave your little 
sister some last time, and I want to do the same for you. 
I hain't got no mother neither, and I know how it is. 



l88 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

The Indians too were good to the children. Ehza 
writes her memories of them : 

They gave us shreds of smoked fish and dried acorns to 
eat ; lowered from their backs the queer little baby beds, 
called "bickooses," and made the chubby faces in them 
laugh for our amusement. They also let us pet the dogs 
that perked up their ears and wagged their tails as our own 
Uno used to do when he wanted to frolic. Sometimes they 
stroked our hair and rubbed the locks between their fingers, 
then felt their own as if to note the difference. 

One evening in June the hungry Eliza and her 
sisters wandered into a shop where they saw a 
white-haired old man cutting meat for customers. 
After all of these were gone, Eliza, remembering 
how she had been told to address old people, said : 

" Grandfather, please give us a piece of meat." 

Pleased at the greeting, he cut for each a piece 
of liver, w^iich they later toasted over the coals, 
impaling the slices on sharp sticks. Eliza's piece 
fell in the ashes, but she was so hungry she did 
not object to the taste. 

That night the old man went home and said 
to his wife, a good German woman : 

" Mary, at the fort are three hungry little orphan 
girls. Take something to them as soon as you 
can. One child is fair, two are dark." 

It was not long before the children saw a stout 



ACROSS THE PLAINS IN 1846 189 

old woman coming toward them. Eliza describes 
how she looked : 

On one arm she carried a basket, and from the hand 
of the other hung a small, covered, tin pail. Her apron 
was almost as long as her dress skirt, which reached below 
her ankles, yet was short enough to show brown stockings 
above her low shoes. A brown, quilted hood of the same 
shade and material as her dress and apron concealed all 
but the white lace frill of a " grandma cap," which fastened 
under her chin with a bow. Her dark hair drawn down 
plain to each temple was coiled there into tiny wheels, and 
a brass pin stuck through crosswise to hold each coil in 
place. Her bright, speaking eyes, more brown than gray, 
gave charm to a face which might have been pretty had 
disease not marred it in youth. 

\\ hen she was near, the children greeted her, 
" Good morning, grandmother ! " 

The old woman never had had a child, and the 
greeting from childish lips conquered her. She 
put down her basket, gave them eggs, bread, butter, 
cheese, and milk. Then she took Eliza home with 
her and treated the child as if she had been her 
own daughter. Eliza was overjoyed when she found 
at the home of the German woman the old man 
who had given the slices of liver to her and her 
sisters. She climbed on his knee, and told him 
how she had cooked the liver, and how good it 
tasted. He wiped his eyes and said : 



I90 REAL STORIES EROM OUR HISTORY 

" Mine child, when you Httle ones thanked me 
for that liver, it made me not so much your friend 
as when you called me grandfather." 

So Eliza found her new home. For years she 
lived with the kind German family. Then she 
w^ent to Sacramento to school. In 1861 she mar- 
ried, and on her wedding journey went to see the 
kind people who had given her a home for so many 
years. For many years she had a beautiful home 
in San Jose, California, where boys and girls de- 
lighted to go to see the pleasant-faced lady who 
told such interesting stories of the early days in 
California. 

Source. Eliza P. Donner Houghton. The Expedition of the 
Donner Party and its Tragic Fate. A. C. RlcClurg & Co., Chicago. 



i 

\ 



Only a little more than a year after the sad experience of the 
Donner party in the mountains, gold was discovered. Then there 
was a rush to carry the first of the precious metal to the East. No 
slow journey by emigrant wagon would satisfy the bearers. Two 
men chose their routes, and ran a race to Washington. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

THE FIRST BEARER OF CALIFORNIA GOLD 

The story is familiar of the discovery of gold 
in 1848, at Sutter's mill race in California, But 
the story of how the first gold was brought to 
the East was never told in detail till the publication 
of the life of General Edward Fitzgerald Beale. 

At the time of the discovery General Beale was 
a midshipman on the United States Steamship 
Ohio. Commander Jones selected him to carry 
to Washington word of the discovery, and urged 
him to arrive ahead of an officer of the army who 
was leaving on the same errand at about the 
same time. 

The young midshipman wished to take with 
him a sample of the gold, but as the navy regu- 
lations gave no authority for the purchase, he had 
to secure it on his own account. It is said that 
he had in his possession a large quantity of cjuinine 



192 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

which at the time was quoted in San Francisco 
at a higher price than gold. One of the earhest 
visitors to the mill race was persuaded to exchange 
a substantial quantity of gold for one hundred 
grains of quinine. 

To distance his army competitor, who planned 
to go by way of Panama, Midshipman Beale de- 
cided to cross Mexico from ocean to ocean. In 
this way he won the race by two months, as the 
army messenger was carried to Peru and had to 
make his way back to Panama. 

For the rough journey across Mexico, Beale wore 
a sombrero, a red flannel shirt, leather breeches, 
and boots. He carried four six-barreled revolvers, 
and a knife. As he was much sunburned and 
spoke Spanish well, he hoped to be able to pass 
unobserved. 

Bands of ladrones infested the highways. His 
biographer says that he was held up once by three 
robbers, " who, however, made off when confronted 
with great resolution and the four American re- 
volvers, and he became so thoroughly convinced 
of the uncertainties and perils of his undertaking 
that he assumed the responsibility of opening his 
dispatches and making copies of them, which he 
sent by mail to the American Minister at Mexico 
City. Then he immediately pushed on, traveling 



FIRST BEARER OF CALIFORNIA GOLD 



193 



night and day, and taking no rest but by throw- 
ing himself on the ground at each post while the 
saddles were being changed to fresh horses. Once 
a band, coming out of the woods, just at nightfall, 
chased him for several hours, but he finally out- 
rode them, though not before the foremost had 




SAN FRANCISCO IN 1S49 



shot at him a number of times with their carbines. 
At the next post after this adventure he heard 
of a party of eleven travelers, just ahead of him, 
being attacked by a large party and murdered to 
a man. He found their blood still staining the 
muddv c^round." 

It was the rainy season, and the miserable roads 
were almost impassable. " Furious storm succeeded 



194 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

furious storm, the water courses swelled into raging 
torrents, which could only be crossed by swim- 
ming. The roads were blocked by uprooted trees 
and avalanches of stones and mud, and at night 
Beale found his wav chietiv bv the almost inces- 
sant tiashes of lightning. When in the eighth 
day he arrived at Mexico City, he was literally 
cased in mud." 

In spite of delavs his progress was rapid. The 
ninety leagfues between Mexico Citv and \"era Cruz 
he covered in sixty hours, although on the wav he 
\\as held up once more by brigands, from whom 
he escaped bv a daring dash down an almost 
precipitous mountain side. At \'era Cruz he slept 
under a roof for the first time, with the exception 
of the nights spent in Mexico City. 

Although his guide had to be confined as a 
madman, havinor lost his mind durincr the hard- 
ships experienced, Beale was able to continue his 
journev at once. 

After he had crossed the Gulf of Mexico to 
Mobile in a sloop of war, the remainder of the 
trip was comparatively easy. Until the railroad was 
reached, the traveler was compelled to make use 
of the slow stagecoach. 

At Washington his news was received with in- 
credulity. His gold was criticized. " It glitters, it 



FIRST BEARER OV CALIFORNIA GOLD 195 

looks like gold, but it isn't gold," many insisted. 
Special messengers were sent to California by land 
and by sea to bring back further specimens. 

In New York, however, men were not such 
unbelievers. They handled the nugget and the 
dust which Beale carried, and their eyes glittered 
with longing. Thousands followed him when he 
appeared on the street. 

P. T. Barnum, the proprietor of the Philadelphia 
Museum, saw a chance to make money out of the 
small specimen borne by the midshipman, and so 
he wrote him, offering to buy the precious metal or 
to pay him well for its use for exhibition purposes. 

But Beale did not like the notoriety. He dis- 
appeared after placing half of his gold on view 
at the Patent Office in Washington, 

Two months later the delayed army messenger 
arrived in W^ashington, carrying three thousand 
dollars' worth of gold. At once began a migration 
to California that crowded every available vessel. 
Thousands who could not obtain passage by sea 
or were unable to pay the price asked, crossed 
the plains and the desert. Within two years 
niining in California was advancing by leaps 
and bounds. 

Source. BoxsAL. Edward Fitzgerald Beale : a Pioneer in the Path 
of Empire. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York. 



U>^^'J^'<.VL'^M^'^M^'aL'aL'VvV.'AV!v,';vV,':.VL'NVL:^;vL'AVL'-\'vL'\VV-'t-'-\,'sV^ 



When the discovery of gold in California caused the immigra- 
tion of tens of thousands to the Pacific coast, the lack of mail 
facilities was felt keenly. At first it took months for the exchange of 
letters between residents in California and their friends in the East. 

Yet in i860 letters were carried two thousand miles in seven days. 



crn^YA>^:•.^^■>.>■>;^:'•^n>>;"^>^^-^^Y-^^>.^>h^^7.^^7:-^>:■,^^Y,-^^>'^>>,-^^ 



CHAPTER XXVIII 



THE POXY EXPRESS 

In 1S54 Senator Gwin of California, who had 
just made the overland journey, proposed to Con- 
gress a weekly mail express between St. Louis 
and San Francisco. The time was to be ten days, 
and five thousand dollars was to be paid for each 
trip. But Congress seemed to think it a wild 
scheme, and nothing was done. California Mas 
forced to content itself with receiving mail by 
way of Panama. When the steamers were not 
delayed, a letter would be delivered in twentv- 
two days. When Utah Territor}^ was created, the 
news, which started in September, 1850, reached 
Salt Lake City in January. 

On September 15, 1S58, the coaches of the 

Southern Overland Mail left both San Francisco 

and St. Louis for the journey between the two 

cities by way of Southern California. The distance 

196 



THE PONY EXPRESS 197 

was two thousand seven hundred and fifty-nine 
miles, and the time was made in exactly three 
weeks. The fare was one hundred dollars, in 
gold. Letters were carried for ten cents a half- 
ounce. The equipment consisted of more than one 
hundred Concord coaches, one thousand horses, 
five hundred mules, and seven hundred and fifty 
men, including one hundred and fifty drivers. 
Nearly three years later the first stage on the 
central route, from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Placer- 
ville, California, made the two thousand miles in 
seventeen days. 

Contrast this with the record made by the Pony 
Express, which carried Buchanan's second message 
from St. Joseph to Sacramento, two thousand miles, 
in seven days and nineteen hours. Two hours 
were cut from this record several years later. 

The Pony Express, a system of ti'ansportation 
which employed ponies in relays, was started by 
private parties in 1S60. The first schedule was 
fourteen days, by rail from New York to St. Joseph, 
thence by running ponies to Sacramento. It is 
said that from the beginning the trip was made 
on schedule time, and that the movements of the 
ponies could be counted on as certainly as the 
traveler of to-day counts on the express train. 
Wlien it is remembered that seven days, three . 



198 REAL STORIES EROM OUR HISTORY 

hours, and forty-five minutes was the time required 
by the first express train to cover the distance 
between New York and San Francisco, it will be 
seen how remarkable was the performance of the 
Pony Express. 

" The ponies employed in the service were splen- 
did specimens of speed and endurance " is the 
record written bv Bradlev. " Thev were fed and 

^ ^ J 

housed with the greatest care, for their mettle 
must never fail the test to which it was put. Ten 
miles' distance at the limit of the animal's pace 
was exacted from him, and he came darting into 
the station fiecked with foam, nostrils dilated, and 
every hair reeking with perspiration, while his 
flanks thumped at every breath. 

" Nearly two thousand miles in eight days must 
be made ; there was no idling for man or beast. 
When the express rode up to the station, both 
rider and pony were always ready. The only de- 
lay was a second or two as the saddle-pouch with 
its precious burden was thrown on, and the rider 
leaped into his place ; then away they rushed down 
the trail, and in a moment were out of sight. 

" The case of precious letters made a bundle no 
larger than an ordinary' writing tablet, but there was 
five dollars paid in advance for every letter trans- 
ported across the continent. There were hundreds 



THE PONY EXPRESS 



199 



of them sometimes, for they were written on the 
thinnest paper to be procured." 

Each section of the road was from one hundred 
to one hundred and forty miles long. Twenty 
pounds was the limit in weight of mail carried. 




A PONY EXPRESS RIDER ON THE LOOKOUT FOR INDIANS 



In all, six hundred and fifty thousand miles were 
ridden by the riders of the original company, and 
only one small, unimportant mail was lost. 

When the telegraph was completed across the 
plains, rates on letters fell to one dollar. In addi- 
tion, it was necessary to pay the United States 



200 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

ten cents on each letter, though it was carried by 
private hands. There was for many years a sur- 
vival of this double payment. Wells, Fargo &: 
Co. long carried letters for particular business men 
who insisted that they got better service from the 
company, but the regular United States postage 
had to be paid in addition to the company's charge, 
the reason being that the mail-carrying privilege is 
retained by the government. 

The Pony Express never paid expenses. For the 
period of sixteen months that it was in operation, 
it is stated that the expenses were approximately 
as follows : 

Equipping the line $100,000 

Maintenance, $30,000 per month . . 480,000 

Nevada Indian War 75, 000 

Miscellaneous 45,000 

3700,000 

The receipts were less than five hundred thou- 
sand dollars. The results were, however, out of 
all proportion to the cost. It opened the way, first 
for the transcontinental telegraph, then for the rail- 
way, and so for the marvelous development of the 
whole Western country. 

Sources. \^isscher. A Thrilling and Truthful History of the Pony 
Express. Rand, IVIcNally & Co., Chicago. 

Bradley. The Story of the Pony Express. A. C. McClurg & Co., 
Chicago. 



:^ VU.CUJA>.U<>VUW^XVL'A\WW^^AVU^UX^UAVWM^ 



While the problem of speedy transportation of letters was being 
solved, a plainsman was planning for an efficient means of trans- 
portation across the sandy waste. His idea was so startling that 
some people thought he was crazy, but he managed to convince 
those in authority at Washington that his plan should be tried. 



:frTYyA>y/AYynYY/^Y)^nYrnY/A\Y/niAYAY)r^^ 



CHAPTER XXIX 

THE FORGOTTEN CAMEL CORPS 

This is not a story of Africa or Asia, but of 
America; and it is not a tale of the circus or the 
menagerie, but of the Western plains. 

At the close of the war with Mexico, hundreds 
of thousands of square miles were added to the 
territory of the United States, and there was need 
for many new stations and forts for our army. 
Soldiers were sent to these stations. Then supplies 
of all kinds had to follow the soldiers. 

But how were the supplies to be forwarded 
across the desert ? Wagon transportation was made 
difficult by the presence of Indians and Mexicans. 
Many plans for furnishing the desired transporta- 
tion facilities were susrs^ested. Finally, General 
Edward F. Beale made a proposal that seemed 
the most impractical of all, except that advocated 
by a man who wanted a relay of balloons. 



202 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

General Beale's suggestion was the organization 
and equipment of a camel corps. The thought 
came to him while crossing Death Valley in Cali- 
fornia, in company with Kit Carson. On his jour- 
neys he always carried a book. On this occasion 
the book described Hue's explorations in Tartary. 
While reading this he became convinced that the 
introduction of camels to the Western desert of 
America would rob travel of half its terrors. Kit 
Carson was not enthusiastic when the plan was 
outlined, but when General Beale went to W^ash- 
ington to propose it, his reception was different. 
At that time Jefferson Davis was secretary of 
war, and he felt that the proposed camel corps 
might be practical. At any rate, he was willing 
to try it. 

In Ma}^ i855> the steamship Supply sailed for 
Tunis to secure camels for the experiment. The 
captain of the steamer had never seen a camel, 
outside a circus, so he very wisely bought two 
camels and brought them on board for the pur- 
pose of studying their habits, that he might treat 
the herd intelligently when it should be in his care. 
Later thirty-three camels were purchased. 

In April, 1856, the Supply reached Indianola, 
Texas, with its cargo. After landing the ungainly 
animals, the commander of the expediton returned 




THE CAMEL CORPS IN THE DESERT 



203 



204 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

to Asia Minor for a second supply. In the summer 
of 1856 he landed forty-four camels, all seasick. 

General Beale took charge of the animals, and 
declared most enthusiastically to all inquirers that 
they would revolutionize desert transportation. In- 
quirers were many, too, for popular interest in this 
new method of carrying goods was great. From 
El Paso, Texas, the commander of the camel corps 
wrote : 

When exactly the right breed is at our disposal, and when 
one or two Turks or Arabs to the manner born have been 
induced to remain long enough to familiarize our people with 
the habits of the camels, complete success will undoubtedly 
be attained. 

An account of the beginning of the journey 
of the camel trains to the West was written by 
General Beale to the War Department. There 
were none in his party who knew the habits of the 
animals, yet everything went well. There was not 
an accident, in spite of the predictions of people 
in San Antonio who said that none of the camels 
would ever see El Paso. The road was the most 
trying General Beale had ever seen ; every unshod 
w^orkhorse or mule with the party went lame. Yet 
not a camel became tenderfooted. " I attribute this," 
he said, " not so much to the spongy-natured, 
gutta-percha-like substance which forms their feet, 



THE FORGOTTEN CAMEL CORPS 205 

as to tlie singular regularity and perpendicular 
motion with \\'hich the foot is raised and put down. 
In horses and mules there is always more or less 
of a step or a shuffle, but the camel lifts his foot 
clearly from the ground, extends the leg and re- 
places it squarely and without the least shuffle 
or motion to create friction." 

Another reason for his enthusiasm was that the 
camels " live and keep well on food which the mules 
reject, and which grows in the greatest luxuriance 
in the most barren of our American deserts, namely 
the greasewood, a small bitter bush, useless for 
any purpose I have been able to discover except 
this. Although they eat grass when staked out to 
it, if left to themselves they will instantly leave 
the best forage and browse greedily on bushes of 
any kind whatever in preference." 

On January 21, 1858, the newspapers of San 
Francisco printed a letter from Los Angeles which 
told of the arrival of General Beale, with fourteen 
camels. He was more enthusiastic than ever, and 
the camels had served him well in all his journeys 
in the desert. 

When Jefferson Davis left the Cabinet there 
was nobody except General Beale to defend the 
camels against those who declared that the mule 
was the only dependable beast of burden for 



2o6 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

American deserts. Their protests were enforced by 
the complaints of the soldiers, who feared the 
camels, in spite of the presence of Turks, whose 
unconcern in handling them was a matter of 
comment. 

Many of the camels strayed away from the army 
posts, and many died of neglect. For years the 
wandering animals were seen here and there in 
Arizona and New Mexico. 

The surviving animals Vv-ere condemned by the 
army board and sold at auction. General Beale 
bought them and kept them as long as they lived. 
Frequently he drove two of them attached to a 
sulky. In this strange conveyance he once made 
a journey of one hundred miles, to Los Angeles. 

Source. BoNSAL. Edward Fitzgerald Beale : a Pioneer in the Path 
of Empire. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York. 



J UJ^uv<UMUv<KJJWJJWJfx^>JMJJ^VJWJf^^J^ 



The scheme to make the camel the ship of the American desert 
failed, but other attempts to solve the transportation problem were 
more successful. The overland freighters were far less picturesque 
than camels, but they accomplished for the scattered settlers in the 
West what camels could never have done. 



irwr\rrr^{Yr^r\rrn^rr^^rr\rrr\^rr^rrrv,'y/^Yr^^\^r^^ 



CHAPTER XXX 

FREIGHTING ON THE PLAINS 

Before the railroads were built across the plains 
many freighting companies came into existence. 
These, with the Conestoga wagons and prairie 
schooners of the immigrants, made the roads of 
the prairies, the desert, and the mountains scenes 
of remarkable activity. Almost daily great caravans 
set out from the Missouri River. 

There is no way of telling how many passengers 

crossed the plains between 1846 and i860, nor 

how much freight was carried. However, an idea 

of the extent of the traffic is given by these facts: 

approximately forty-two thousand people went to 

California in 1849 alone; ten years later observers 

at Fort Kearney in a single day sometimes counted 

as many as five hundred heavily laden wagons ; 

in six weeks, in 1865, six thousand wagons loaded 

with freight passed that point. 

207 



2o8 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

F. A. Root, a messenger on the overland stage 
line from Atchison to Denver, says that he counted, 
in one day's ride, between Fort Kearney and old 
Julesburg, 888 westbound wagons, drawn by 10,650 
oxen, horses, and mules. He adds that at almost 




FREIGHTING PROVISIONS ACROSS THE PLAINS 



any hour there would be what looked like " a solid 
train of moving, white-covered wagons." 

The driver of a team of horses or mules counted 
on twenty-one days as the time required for the 
trip from points on the Missouri River to Denver. 
The animals were not permitted to go faster than a 



FREIGHTING ON THE PLAINS 209 

walk. Ox trains made l^iit eighteen or twenty miles 
a day, and thirty-five days were spent on the road. 

An incident related by Mr. Root illustrates the 
relative speed of the overland stage and the 
overland freio-hter : 

An Atchison freighter had just pulled out with his ox 
train one Monday morning, a few minutes before the reg- 
ular hour of departure for the express coach. I passed 
him on Eighth street, then at the extreme western busi- 
ness portion of the city, and reached Denver in six days. 
Remaining there two days I started on my return trip to 
Atchison. On my way down I met and chatted briefly 
with my friend somewhere near the head waters of the 
Little Blue River, near the divide, perhaps twenty-five miles 
southeast of Fort Kearney. I reached Atchison, remaining 
a week. On my way west the next trip I passed my friend 
again on the South Platte. I reached Denver, stopping two 
days, then returned to Atchison on my regular trip, meet- 
ing him again on my way east. Remaining another week in 
Atchison, I pulled out with the stage-coach, once more for 
the Colorado metropolis. Imagine my surprise when, within 
a few miles of Denver, I was greeted by the freighter's 
familiar voice. During the time he had been making his 
trip of 653 miles with his oxen, traveling every day except 
Sundays, I had ridden five times across the plains, a dis- 
tance of 3265 miles, and had laid by eighteen days. 

But even if progress was slow, it was sure. 
Every month immense quantities of freight were 
carried from the Missouri River to western points. 



2IO REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 



In 1865 over 21,000,000 pounds of freight were 
shipped from Atchison, loaded in 4917 wagons 
which were drawn by 8164 mules and 27,685 oxen, 
and were cared for by 1256 men. One Leaven- 
worth firm conducted such a tremendous business 
that they required 6250 wagons and about 75,000 




tli^yi 



''J6^-&-i^^-^i^:^^Si^:^^Zi- - ''-•- 



AKI I >F THE CARAVAN 



oxen. Mr. Root estimates that if these oxen and 
wagons had been put on the road at one time, they 
would have made a train forty miles long. 

Usually twenty-five wagons were sent out in one 
train by this Leavenworth firm. The men who 
accompanied such a train are enumerated as fol- 
lows : " A captain, who acted as wagon-master ; 



FREIGHTING ON THE PLAINS 211 

an assistant wagon-master ; the extra hands ; the 
night herders ; a cavallard driver, whose duty it 
was to attend to the extra cattle. Besides these, 
there was a driver for each team, making a com- 
plete force of thirty-one men for a train." 

It is thought that the largest train ever seen 
west of the Missouri went over the Santa Fe trail 
during General Custer's Indian campaign in 1868. 
" In it were 800 army wagons, each drawn by six 
mules. When strung out four abreast for travel, as 
was often done, the train was over a mile in length." 

The wagon trains earned large profits for their 
owners, though at times it happened that losses 
through wars with the Indians were so great that 
the profits of years were wiped out in a week or a 
month. One of the leaders in the business lost 
through Indians, in a single year, hundreds of 
thousands of dollars. 

The charges of the overland freighters between 
Atchison and Denver averaged as follows : 

Flour 9 cents per pound 

Sugar 1 3 .y cents per pound 

Bacon and Dry Goods . . 15 cents per pound 

Whisky 18 cents per pound 

Glass 19I cents per pound 

Trunks 25 cents per pound 

Furniture ......31 cents per pound 



2 12 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

The most famous of the owners of overland 
freighting trains was Ben HolHday, who paid a 
milhon dollars a year for feed for his animals, 
and received a million dollars a year from the 
government for transporting mail from Atchison 
to Placerville, California, and intermediate points. 

This is only one chapter of many in the wonder- 
ful story of the winning of the West. It is well 
to have it in mind when we are being whisked 
over the plains in palace cars. 

Source. Root and Connelley. The Overland Stage to California. 
Published by the authors, Topeka, Kansas. 






The tale of the development of the resources of the great West 
would be incomplete without the absorbing story of transportation 
on the country's vast natural waterways. 

The first chapter in this story goes back to the days of La Salle, 
the builder of the first vessel on the Great Lakes. 



irKffnyynxYri^r\Yrr\rrr\^Yr\^r\^rr^rrr\Yrr^^ri'\^<^yrr\^y^^ 



CHAPTER XXXI 

THE FIRST VESSEL ON THE GREAT LAKES 

It is not easy for a person who has seen the 
Great Lakes as they are to-day, with their im- 
mense commerce, to picture them as they were 
when hardy explorers were pushing their way to 
the interior through the forests that ahiiost sur- 
rounded them. These men looked with hungry 
eyes on the waters, longing to bring their vessels 
from the Atlantic up the St. Lawrence, and so 
continue their explorations by the easy water route. 
But Niagara blocked them. Of course many of 
the early missionaries, explorers, and fur traders 
took advantage of the Ottawa River, crossing 
over to the French River, and so entering Georgian 
Bay on Lake Huron, while others ascended the 
Toronto River to Lake Simcoe, and so across to 
Lake Huron ; but they were not satisfied with 

such roundabout routes. 

213 



214 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

La Salle, especially, dreaming of the time when 
the Lakes would carry an " inconceivable com- 
merce" (to use the words of Father Hennepin, his 
companion on many adventurous journeys), wished 
to explore the enticing bodies of water. So he asked 
leave to found colonies and conduct explorations 
as far west as Lake Superior. His king was not 
ready to approve the plan of colonization, but, 
with royal generosity, he gave permission to the 
adventurer to " labor at the discovery of the western 
parts of New France," if he was willing to pay 
all expenses out of his own pocket. 

It was La Salle's idea to lead an expedition 
by water. To do this he had to build a vessel 
beyond the Niagara Falls barrier. Undaunted by 
the difficulties of construction in the wilderness, 
he made his plans at once. 

An exploring company was sent by canoe up 
the Niagara River. In December, 1678, the party 
saw the falls, and were amazed and awe-struck ; they 
had heard from the Indians of the grandeur of 
the sight, but the reality left them speechless. 
Turning froni the stupendous spectacle, they 
selected a spot at the mouth of Cayuga Creek, 
for building the ship. 

When La Salle was about to begin work, word 
came that the vessel on the way to the new 



FIRST VESSEL ON THE GREAT LAKES 215 



shipyard, laden with building materials, had been 
wrecked on Lake Ontario, and everything lost 
but anchors and cables. Nevertheless he deter- 
mined to push the work. Thirty workmen were 
available. Two Lidians made bark wigwams for 




nia(;ara falls 
From Hennepin's " Nouvelle Decouverte d'un Ties Orand Pays," 1697 

the men, as well as a chapel for Father Hennepin, 
who had carried the altar on his back twelve miles 
from where they had left the canoes, below the Falls. 
The Indians were not in favor of building "the 
wooden canoe," for they were afraid that the white 
men would interfere with their rich fur trade. 



2i6 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

Fortunately for La Salle, most of the Iroquois 
who lived near the Niagara River were off on the 
war path ; yet those who remained at home were 
able greatly to hinder the work. Spies were con- 
stantly in the shipyard. Once the blacksmith was 
attacked, but he successfully defended himself with 




BUILDING OF THE GRIFFON 
From the Hennepin of 1704 



a red-hot bar of iron. When the vessel took shape 
under the sturdy hands of the workmen, word 
came through a friendly squaw of a plot to burn 
it at the stocks. It was necessary to keep a guard 
posted constantly. 

Discouraged by these alarms, by weather so 
much colder than they had known at home, and by 



FIRST VESSEL ON THE GREAT LAKES 217 

the shortage of suppHcs, the workmen threatened 
to leave, but the masterly leader succeeded in per- 
suading them to stay- 
Finally, early in the spring of 1679, the vessel 
was launched in the Niagara River. It was of 
forty-five tons burden, and carried five cannons. 
When the GrifTon, as the vessel was named, was 
ready for its first voyage. La Salle found it neces- 
sary, owing to the strong current, to use towropes. 
Progress was easy on Lake Erie, but the Indians, 
to frighten the pioneers, had insisted that the lake 
was full of rocks and sands. A day of cautious 
voyaging showed the falsity of this report ; then 
the voyage was continued without fear until the 
St. Clair Flats were reached. Here, again, tow- 
ropes were a necessity, a dozen men hauling the 
Griffon into deeper water. 

At Lake Michigan, or Lake Illinois, as it was 
called by both French and Indians, a cargo of 
furs was secured, and the Griffon was deeply laden. 
Dividing his men into two companies, La Salle 
left one company on board, with instructions to 
return to Niagara, from which point the furs were 
to be transported to market and sold for the benefit 
of his clamoring creditors. The intrepid leader 
and fourteen companions embarked in four canoes 
and pushed on into the wilderness. 



2i8 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 




But La Salle's creditors were never to reap the 
fruits of that voyage. The return trip to Niagara 
was barely begun, when a sudden storm caught 
the vessel unprepared. For four days the wind 
blew and the waves boiled. Whether the Griffon 
gave up the battle with the elements at once, or 

after a long con- 
flict, was never 
known. No mem- 
ber of the crew 
lived to tell the 
tale of the voyage. 
During the hur- 
ricane La Salle and 
his men waited on 

BOWLDER AND TABLET ON THE SITE OF sllOrC Hvincr On 

THE GRIFFON SHIPYARD , . , , 

pumpkms and In- 
dian corn and the flesh of a porcupine. Then, al- 
though fearing the worst for the Griffon, they took 
to their boats once more. Storm succeeded storm. 
For safety they went ashore at night. At first 
it was comparatively easy to do this, for the bluff 
was low, and they were able to find a kind of 
shelter from the snow and rain among the rocks 
and bushes. Later, when the bluff at their right 
grew higher, it was diflicult to climb to the top, 
but this they were obliged to do, dragging their 



FIRST VESSEL ON THE GREAT LAKES 219 

canoes with them. When food suppHes were all 
but exhausted they were glad to eat a little corn 
and a few wild berries. Near the site of Milwaukee 
they found the body of a deer, which had been killed 
by a wolf. With wliat eagerness they devoured the 
meat thus provided for them in the nick of time ! 

These are only hints of the privations endured 
by La Salle and his men. Father Hennepin was 
right in saying, " Those who shall be so happy as 
to inhabit that noble country cannot but remember 
with gratitude those who discovered the way by 
venturing to sail upon unknown lakes." 

Source. Chanxing and Lansing. The Story of the Great Lakes. 
The IMacmillan Company, New York. 



:j JJX^U<.VUAMJau;VL'aWUL'AVU<VUaL'AkUA>vL'^VWAVL''vV^^ 



I I 

$ More than one hundred years passed before the next great x 
^ 1 I I. ._ »U„ U.o, ^C , ,„„_,,»; — k.. ...—«. ;„ ,U„ T T„;»„J C 

I 



More than one hundred years passed before the next great 
landmark in the history of transportation by water in the United 
States. Then came John Fitch, the Yankee clockmaker, brass- 
founder, silversmith, gunsmith, surveyor, and soldier, who built 
the first river steamboat. 



CHAPTER XXXII 

A DISAPPOINTED INVENTOR 

The day will come when some more powerful man will 
get fame and riches from my invention, but nobody will 
believe that poor John Fitch can do anything worthy of 
attention. 

Thus wrote a disappointed inventor who, seven- 
teen years before Fulton's Clermont appeared in 
the Hudson, perfected a workable steamboat. For 
a period of three months this boat carried pas- 
sengers and freight on the Delaware River out of 
Philadelphia. 

The inventor was John Fitch, who was born in 
Hartford, Connecticut, January 21, 1743, old style, 
or February 2, according to the revised calendar. 
When he was ten years old he was taken out of 
school and set to work. He was so fond of books, 
however, that he persisted in study before and 
after work. Books which his father felt unable to 



A DISAPPOINTED INVENTOR 221 

afford were bought by the boy himself with 
money secured by extra work. One sucli purchase 
was made possible by raising his own crop of 
potatoes on w^aste land on his father's farm ; the po- 
tatoes were planted on a holiday, when the rest of 
the family were away from home, and the patch 
was culti\'ated at noon and in the evenincr. 

At seventeen, discouraged by the outlook on 
the farm, he resolved to go to sea. His capital 
was twenty-three shillings, of which his father had 
given him twenty. On his return he apprenticed 
himself to a clockmaker, who, being also a farmer, 
demanded that one half of the apprentice's time 
should be devoted to farm work. Unfortunately, 
the master did not carry out the terms of the inden- 
ture ; he insisted on keeping young Fitch at work 
on the farm most of the time, and gave him little 
instruction in his trade. The apprentice's expe- 
rience was equally unfortunate when his ser\'ices 
were transferred to another clockmaker, with whom 
he remained until he was twenty. Then he secured 
his release on payment of £8, for which he had 
to 2:0 in debt, decidinor that it was wiser to con- 
tract the debt than to waste more time with a man 
who refused to teach him according to promise. 
So he went out into the world, " a clockmaker 
who had never made a clock, a watchmaker 



222 REAL STORIES p-ROM OUR HISTORY 

who had never taken a watch apart or put one 
together, and who had never seen the tools neces- 
sary for such dehcate operations." 

But of brass work he had some knowledge. 
He borrowed twenty shillings and announced him- 
self as a brass-founder. So well did he succeed that 




FITCH'S STEAM I!()AT 
Philadelphia in the background 



in two years he had paid off his entire indebtedness 
of ^20, and had saved /^50. More than this, he 
was known as a successful clockmaker; he had 
taught himself by experimenting on every clock 
he could get for the purpose. 

In consequence of business misfortunes the 
young manufacturer decided to leave home. For 
some time he tramped through New York and 



A DISAPPOINTED INVENTOR 223 

New Jersey, earning liis way by mending clocks. 
At Trenton he found employment at the shop of 
a silversmith, whose trade he soon picked up. How- 
ever, business was so poor that he long lived on 
tlireepence a day. But, business gradually increasing, 
he was able to buy out the silversmith and became 
himself an employer, doing more work than the best 
of Philadelphia's silversmiths. By the beginning of 
the Revolutionary War he had saved ^800. 

For a time John P^itch served as lieutenant in 
a New Jersey company, but \\hen his services were 
desired as a gunsmith he felt that he could be of 
more use at his shop than in the field. His estab- 
lishment soon became a small arsenal, and his 
apprentices gave their entire attention to supplying 
the needs of the soldiers. This continued until the 
advance of the British made necessary the closing 
of the armory. 

Fitch's further career during the war is clouded. 
He was accused of being a deserter, but the charge 
was answered by the statement that armorers were 
excluded from military service. He sought to make 
money by selling provisions to the army at \'alley 
P^orge, but the rapid depreciation of Continental 
currency impoverished him. 

Disheartened by reverses and criticisms, the silver- 
smith, who had learned the principles of surveying 



2 24 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

when lie was eleven years old, went to Kentucky 
to survey lands purchased with the scant funds left 
to him. After a time he was taken prisoner by the 
Indians, and compelled to go with them to Detroit. 
There he was delivered to the British. 

With other prisoners he was taken by water to 
an island near the mouth of the St. Lawrence. 
Even in this unlikely place the Yankee silversmith 
contrived to make money. He had no tools except 
a single engraving implement, but he made others. 
An old brass kettle, bought from a soldier, furnished 
material for brass buttons. In seven months nine 
wooden clocks, three hundred pairs of brass sleeve 
buttons, and eighty pairs of silver buttons were 
made. Prices were low, but the ingenious man was 
able to buy many comforts, as well as to spend a 
dollar each week on sick prisoners. The industry 
was interrupted only by an exchange of prisoners 
and return to New York. 

It was in 1785 that the idea of the steamboat 
first occurred to Fitch. The sight of a carriage 
drawn by horses led him to think of the possibility 
of a carriage propelled by steam. He had then 
never seen a steam engine. He declared that he 
did not know that such a thino- was in existence. 

o 

A week's thought led him to decide that steam car- 
riages were impracticable, because of the roughness 



A DISAPPOINTED INVENTOR 225 

of the roads. Then he began to think of a boat 
propelled by steam. The first model was built in 
1 785 with paddle wheels. The machinery was made 
of brass, while the paddle wheels had been made 
of wood bv a student from Princeton College. 

On January 13, 1848, Rembrandt Peale, then an 
old man, wrote a letter to a friend who had asked 
for his memories of the first trial, in Philadelphia. 
He said : 

In the spring of 1785, hearing there was something 
curious to be seen at the floating bridge on the Schuylkill 
at Market Street, I eagerly ran to the spot, where I found 
a few persons collected, and eagerly gazing at a shallop at 
anchor below the bridge, with about 20 persons on board. 
On the deck was a small furnace, and machinery connected 
with a coupling crank, projecting over the stern to give 
motion to three or four paddles, resembling snow shovels, 
which hung into the water. When all was ready, and the 
power of steam was made to act, by means of which I 
was then ignorant, knowing nothing of the piston except 
in the common pump, the paddles began to work, pressing 
against the water backzvard as they rose, and the boat, to 
my great delight, moved against the tide, without wind or 
hand ; but in a few minutes it ran aground at one angle 
of the river, owing to the difficulty of managing the 
unwieldy rudder, which projected eight or ten feet. It was 
soon backed off and proceeded slowly to its destination at 
Gray's Ferry. So far it must have been satisfactory to 
Mr. I-^itch in this his first public experiment. 



226 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 



Because of the mechanical difficulties in the 
crude paddle wheels, it was resolved to abandon 
them in favor of oars or paddles to be arranged 
as in a boat propelled by man power, but moved in 
this case by steam. A boat on this principle was 
built in 1787, and was comparatively successful. 
The trial on the Delaware was witnessed by nearly 
„ ,- all the members 

of the Constitu- 
tional Convention 
then in session in 
Philadelphia. 

In a later model, 
built in 1 788, the 
position of the 
oars w^as changed 
to the stern, where 
they were made 
to push against the water. Although this boat made 
a trip to Burlington, twenty miles from Philadel- 
phia, it was seen that improvements were necessarv. 
These were incorporated in the boat which was 
tested in 1 790 ; it ran a mile on the Delaware, at 
dead water, in twelve minutes and a half. 

So great was the success of the new model that 
it became a regular passenger and freight boat on 
the Delaware, running a total of between two and 




FITCH'S THIRD STEAMBOAT, 17S8 

Reproduced by permission of the Phila- 
delphia Commercial Museum 



A DISAPPOINTED INVENTOR 227 

three thousand miles at a speed of from seven to 
eight miles an hour, whereas Fulton's Clermont, 
seventeen years later, could accomplish little more 
than six miles an hour. On June 14 the Federal 
Gazette published the following announcement : 

THE STEAMBOAT is now ready to take passen- 
gers, and is intended to set off from Arch Street Ferry in 
Philadelphia, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for Bur- 
lington, Bristol, Bordentown & Trenton, to return on Tues- 
days, Thursdays & Saturdays. Price for Passengers 2/6 to 
Burlington and Bristol, 3/9 to Bordentown, 5 s. to Trenton. 

Plans were immediately made to build a larger 
boat, the Perseverance, so that two boats might 
be sent to Virginia in time to take advantage of 
the state's grant of exclusive rights to transpor- 
tation on the Ohio River and its tributaries. Penn- 
sylvania had already granted without conditions 
a similar right for waters under her control. The 
United States patent, signed by Washington, was 
not granted till August 26, 1791. 

Vexatious delays hindered the work on the 
Perseverance. Enemies attacked P^itch, friends 
forsook him, rivals interfered with him, dire poverty 
added to his difficulties. It became impossible to 
complete the vessel in season to comply with the 
Virginia statute. Finally the inventor abandoned 
the enterprise. 



2 28 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

Fitch, after a trip to France, retired to Kentucky, 
where, ill and disheartened, he took his own life. 
A friend at first proposed to put above the grave 
this inscription : 

While living he declared 

"This will be the mode of 

crossing the Atlantic 

in time, 

Whether I shall bring it to perfection 

or not. 

Steamboats will be preferred to 

all other conveyances ; 

And they will be particularly 

useful in the Navy Yard, and on the 

Ohio and Mississippi." 

The body of the inventor lies forgotten in 
Bardstown, Kentucky ; but the prophecy has been 
fulfilled. 

Sounes. Thompson Westcott. Life of John Fitch, the Inventor 
of the Steamboat. J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia. 

Letter from Rembrandt Peale. Collection of the Historical .Society 
of Pennsylvania. 

Whittlesey. Life of John Fitch. Vol. \T, Second Series (Library of 
American Biography). Charles C. Little and James Brown, Boston, 1 845. 



I 

frxcrr^yr^(Yi'\rYrwrwr\tfrw-r\\yr\rrr\rir\YYr^r\rfr\^ 



The day foretold by John Fitch came quickly. Another inventor 
designed a steamboat that had none of the defects of the vessel 
which startled the residents of the Quaker City when it made its 
appearance on the Delaware. And he is known as the inventor 
of the steamboat. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

THE FIRST PRACTICAL STEAMBOATS 

The power of propelling boats by steam is now fully 
proved. The morning I left New York there was not, per- 
haps, thirty persons in the city who believed the boat would 
ever be of the least utility, and while we were putting off 
from the wharf I heard a number of sarcastic remarks. 
This is the way in which ignorant men compliment what 
they call philosophers and projectors. 

Thus, in August, 1807, Robert Fulton, honored 
as the inventor of the steamboat, wrote to Joel 
Barlow. He had just made the trial trip in the 
Clermont from New York to Albany, one hundred 
and fifty-four miles, in thirty-two hours. On con- 
dition that the speed should be at least four miles 
an hour, the legislature had promised to him and 
his partner " exclusive right and privilege of navi- 
gating all kinds of boats by steam on all the waters 
of the State, for a term of twenty years." After 

the successful trial, the further promise was made 

229 



2-,o REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 



that the monopoly would be extended for a period of 
five years for each new boat put on the river by the 
inventor, until a total of thirty years was reached. 
There was much excitement on the river when 

the Clermont be- 
gan to make reg- 
ular trips. There 
were many sail- 
ing vessels on the 
stream, whose cap- 
tains and owners, 
seeing in the new 
venture a danger- 
ous rival, began to 
interfere with the 
safe running of 
the boat, until it 
became necessar}^ 
for the legislature 
to threaten with 
Drawn by Reigart imprisonment the 

guilty persons. 
That terror, as well as jealousy, was excited by 
the passage of the Clermont, is shown by an extract 
from a letter written by one who lived on the ri\-er : 

The crews of many sailing vessels shrank beneath their 
decks at the terrific sight, while others prostrated themselves 




FULTON^S FIRST EXPERIMENT WITH 
PADDLES, 1779 



THE FIRST PRACTICAL STEAMBOATS 231 

and besought Providence to protect them from the approach 
of the horrible monster which was marching on the tide and 
hghting its path by the fire that it vomited. 

The next year, 1808, the Clermont, improved and 
enlarged, was renamed the North River. The fol- 
lowing description of her first voyage was written 
by a passenger: 

At the hour appointed for departure, 9 a.m., Chancellor 
Livingston, Fulton's partner, with a number of invited friends, 
came on board, and after a good deal of bustle, and no 
little noise and confusion, the boat was got out into the 
stream and headed up the river. Steam was put on, 
and sails were set, for she was provided with large square 
sails, attached to masts, that were so constructed that they 
could be raised or lowered, as the direction and strength of 
the wind might require. There was at this time a light 
breeze from the south, and with steam and sails a very 
satisfactory rate of speed was obtained, and as the favor- 
able wind continued we kept on the even tenor of our way 
. . . and the boat proceeded to Albany, where she arrived 
at two or three o'clock p.m. 

This was thought to be a wonderful performance, 
for the trip had required but twenty-nine hours 
instead of thirty-two. The fare was seven dollars. 
P""or twenty miles or less the charge was one dollar. 

A glimpse of life on the river is given in a 
letter by Reginald Fowler, an Englishman, after 
a trip on one of the Hudson River boats in the 



2 32 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY i 

early days, when the first models had been greatly 
improved on. He wrote : 

The Americans take great pride in these boats, and spare 
no expense on them. In English steamboats the ladies are 
usually worse accommodated than the stronger sex. In 
America this is not the case ; the best part of the boat 
is used for their accommodation. All must give way to 
them. No man is admitted into the dining saloon until 
all the ladies are seated at the table, when they rush in 
pell mell. After that, should a lady require either, the 
chair is, without ceremony, taken from under you, and 
the plate from before you. The Americans pride them- 
selves on their courtesy to Women, and consider it a 
sign of high civilization. 

Several of the earlier boats tried to attract pas- 
sengers by the use of a steam calliope, on which * 
tunes were played during the voyage up or down 
the river. The sound could be heard for a long 
distance. But the practice was abandoned when 
it w^as found that the operation of the calliope 
required so much steam that the speed of the 
boat was materially lessened 

Naturally, as soon as it was discovered that 
steamboat navigation was practicable and profit- 
able, rival owners tried to force their way into 
the river trade. In 1812 a boat built by Fulton 
himself for a man who planned to use it on Long 
Island Sound was transferred to the river while war 



THE FIRST PRACTICAL STEAMBOATS 



^ZZ 



was in progress, because of fear of Great Britain. 
As this was an unusually good vessel, the price 
of passage was put at ten dollars. A young Dutch- 
man, Cornelius Vanderbilt, who had been running 
sail ferryboats between Staten Island and New 
York, secured several steamboats, and advertised still 
better accommodations and a lower fare to Albany. 




THE CLERMONT 



David Buckman, one of the historians of river 
activity, who was born in a house built of timbers 
from the wreck of an early steamboat, has pictur- 
esquely told of what followed the opening of the 
rival lines : 

There was a great strife to secure patrons. ' The town 
was placarded with bills more gaudy and enticing than 
the pictures of a sideshow at a circus. " Runners " for 
the rival steamboat lines made the water front a lively 
place. A man or a woman with a carpetbag became the 



234 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

legitimate subject of capture. Sometimes the man went 
by one line and his satchel by another. Every induce- 
ment was offered, and nervous old ladies, who were fear- 
ful of bursting boilers, were even assured by these runners 
that their boats had no boilers ! The high rate went down 
to one dollar for the trip, and eventually to ten cents ; 
subsequently, in a later competition for passengers, one 
could go to Albany or Troy without paying any fare. 

The monopoly was, after many years, broken. 
The state of New Jersey fought in the courts 
for her rights on the Hudson. Daniel Webster 
conducted the case for New Jersey, and secured 
a verdict in her favor from the Supreme Court. 

Capitalists now became interested in river navi- 
gation. Millions were invested in steamboats, each 
one of which was more palatial and speedy than 
its predecessor, until thousands of passengers were 
carried in a single hull, and it became possible to 
make the one hundred and fifty-four miles between 
the cities in less than seven hours. 

Thus the history of navigation on the Hudson 
is much like that of transportation on the Mis- 
sissippi and its tributaries. Yet the boats on this 
Eastern river never did the important work of their 
Western successors. The surrounding country was 
well settled long before the Clermont made her 
first voyage ; but in the West and South the 



THE FIRST PRACTICAL STEAMBOATS 235 

steamboats were invaluable in carrying settlers to 
their new homes, and in helping in the development 
of a dozen states. In other words, on the Hudson 
the boats were a convenience ; on the Ohio, the 
Mississippi, and the Tennessee they were an abso- 
lute necessity. The invention of Robert Fulton 
was perfected just in time to be of greatest use 
to the West and the South. 

Sources. David L. Buckmax. Old Steamboat Days on the Hudson. 
The Grafton Press, New York. 

J. Franklin Reigart. The Life of Robert Fulton. C. G. Hender- 
son & Co., Philadelphia, 1856. 



k^UXVUA\UAVUA\UUUaWA^JA>OlVUUWm7M^ 



Ten years after Robert Fulton's successftil experiment on the 
Hudson, the pioneer steamboat on the Great Lakes, the Walk-in- 
the- Water, made its first voyage on Lake Erie, attaining a speed of 
from eight to ten miles an hour. Thus an important chapter in 
the development of the West was begun. 



:f/'T^YAY)^'/A'vYArrnYYnYrn'^YnYrAAY^^\yr^^ 



CHAPTER XXXIV 



EARLY STEAM BOx\T DAYS ON THE 
GREAT LAKES 

It is related in an old chronicle that when 
Fulton's steamboat, the Clermont, was making its 
first trip up the Hudson, "an Indian standing 
on the river bank, gazing long and silently at 
the boat moving upstream without sails, finally 
exclaimed, ' Walks in water ! ' " The man of the 
forest saw the boat stemming the current, unaided 
by any power known to him. He observed the 
paddle wheels slowly revolving, and instinctively 
comprehended that when a paddle struck water 
there was a step forward. 

When the first steamer was built for Lake Erie 
traffic this story was recalled, and the name " Walk- 
in-the- Water " was chosen by its owner and painted 
on the paddle boxes. This name was more pictur- 
esque than useful, since it was too much of a 

236 



EARLY STEAMBOAT DAYS 237 

mouthful for ordinary use. The new marvel was 
therefore referred to simply as " the steamboat." 

When the boat was first seen by a Frenchman, 
he gazed at it curiously, then exclaimed to his wife, 
"Jeanne, Jeanne, what are the Yankees sending us 
now but a sawmill ! " 

It is interesting to read the account which is 
given by an eyewitness of the Walk-in-the-Water's 
first voyage : 

On the twenty-fourth day of August, 18 18, an entire 
novelty — the like of which not one in five hundred of the 
inhabitants had ever seen — presented itself before the peo- 
ple of Cayahoga County. On that day the residents along 
the lake shore of Euclid saw upon the lake a curious kind 
of vessel making what was considered very rapid progress 
westward, without the aid of sails, while from a pipe near 
the middle rose forth a dark cloud of smoke, which trailed 
its gloomy length far into the rear of the swift-gliding 
mysterious traveler on the deep. They watched its west- 
ward course until it turned its prow toward the harbor of 
Cleveland ; and then turned back to their work. Many of 
them doubtless knew what it was, but some shook their 
heads in sad surmise as to whether some evil powers were 
not at work in producing such a strange phenomenon as 
that on the bosom of their beloved Lake Erie. Meanwhile 
the citizens of Cleveland, perceiving the approach of the 
monster, hastened to the lake shore to examine it. " What 
is it ? What is it .-' W^here did it come from ? What makes 
it go?" queried one and another of the excited throng. 



238 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

"It's the steamboat! That's what it is!" cried others in 
reply. "Yes! Yes! It's the steamboat," was the general 
shout, and with ringing cheers the people watched the first 
vessel propelled by steam that had ever tra^•ersed the 
waters of Lake Erie. 

Wlien the steamboat was loaded to capacity, 
it carried one hundred cabin passengers and more 
than this number of steerage passengers. These 
passengers were delighted with the speed of eight 
or ten miles an hour. 

It was reported among- the Indians that this 
rapidly moving vessel was drawn through the 
water bv sturgeons. A few venturesome red men, 
determined to learn the truth, went on board at 
Detroit and found their way to the engine room. 
The engine let off steam under great pressure. 
No wonder the Indians " started with a spring, 
a leap and a bound, and ran off the boat, up the 
hill, and through the village, nor did they lessen 
their speed until they were out of sight of the 
white man's ' big canoe.' " 

Fortv-two hours were required for the voyage 
from Buffalo to Detroit, and the fare was eighteen 
dollars. 

The people along the shore of the lake found 
that thev could look for the new boat at about 
the time of its advertised appearance. Half an 



EARLY STEAMBOAT DAYS 



239 



hour before its arrival a small cannon placed on 
the deck would be fired as a warning, for there 
were no whistles in those days. Again the cannon 
would be fired as an indication that the boat was 
about to continue its journey. The signal of the 




THE WALK-IN-THE-WATER 



cannon was used until one day, in a storm, the 
gun broke from its lashings and sank in the lake. 
Passengers were not always able to board the 
steamer when, attracted by the firing of the cannon, 
thev went to the beach. There were no piers and 
no harbors, and passengers were received and de- 
posited by means of boats. Women and children 
were carried through the waves between the boats 



240 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

and the shore on the backs of brawny sailors. 
When, therefore, the wind and waves were high, 
the boat could do nothing but continue on its 
way. The passengers who were carried beyond 
their destination fumed in vain ; they soon learned 
that they must make the best of their bargain. 

For three years this first steamer made regular 
trips. Then came a storm which compelled the 
captain to anchor near the shore. The storm in- 
creased ; the vessel was torn loose from its anchor- 
age and was driven ashore so far that the engi- 
neer was able to wade to land. The passengers 
and all their effects were saved. But the vessel 
was a total wreck, though the engines and boilers 
were found to be uninjured. They were transferred 
to the successor of the Walk-in-the- Water, which 
was built at once. 

The new boat was built at Buffalo, though the 
citizens of Black Rock, then a more important 
port not far awa}', argued that Buffalo Creek was 
too shallow for the purpose. Buffalo people there- 
upon promised to dredge the creek, and accord- 
ingly they made a crude scraper out of a log 
" sawed in half lengthwise and armed at the edge 
with large saw blades. This crude and unwieldy 
device was floated into place by a crane and 
dropped to the bottom. It was then dragged out 



EARLY STEAMBOAT DAYS 241 

by oxen." The work was done b)- the citizens 
of the town, who thus laid the foundations of 
Buffalo's greatness. 

This was the beginning of the immense fleet 
of steam vessels that to-day make the Great Lakes 
the busiest waterway in the world. 

Source. CHAXxixf; and Laxsixg. The Story of the Great Lakes. 
The Macmillan Company, New York. 



k^UXVUvaUAMJXVUAVV^^aWML/UUWJAX^^ 



After their triumphs on the Hudson River, Robert Fulton and 
his partner turned their attention to the Ohio and Mississippi 
rivers. Soon the day of the unwieldy flatboat, the picturesque 
barge, and the popular keel boat was at an end. At last the 
way to the West was open. 



±■~wr\^yr^r'^'\Y,--\^Yr\Yrr\^yri^rr,~\yrwr\^yi■^Yr^ 



CHAPTER XXXV 



THE FIRST STEAMBOAT ON THE OHIO 

Until 1811 transportation on the Ohio and Mis- 
sissippi rivers was by means of keel boats, barges, 
and flatboats. The keel boat is described as being 
" long and slender, sharp fore and aft, with a nar- 
row gangway just witliin the gunwale, for the 
boatmen as they poled up the stream " when they 
were unable to use their oars. Sometimes a low 
house covered the keel boat, and it was then called 
a barge. The flatboat was " an unwieldy box, and 
was broken up, for the lumber it contained, on its 
arrival at its destination." Of course it was useful 
only in going downstream. Many of the early im- 
migrants loaded their goods on flatboats, traveled 
by water as far as possible, then sold their means of 
transportation, and completed their journey by land. 

The success of Fulton's Hudson River steam- 
boat led many people to wonder if boats could not 

242 



FIRST STEAMBOAT ON THE OHIO 243 

be constructed for use west of Pittsburgh. The 
fact that ever-increasing multitudes were seeking 
new homes in the West made steamboats on the 
Oliio and Mississippi seem very desirable. But 
tliose who knew the rivers best felt that owing to 




■I'll I', M.W I ikl.KANS 

From a reproduction 

the treacherous currents and the shifting channels, 
steamboat traffic would be impossible. 

Finally it was decided by Nicholas J. Roosevelt, 
Chancellor Livingston, and Robert Fulton to make 
a careful study of these currents and, if the results 
were favorable, to build a boat run by steam. 

In 1809 Mr. Roosevelt, who agreed to make 
the necessary investigations, floated on a flatboat 



244 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

to New Orleans, carrying on his investigations as 
lie went. Mrs. Roosevelt, who accompanied her 
husband, said of the trip : 

The journey in the flatboat commenced at Pittsburgh, 
where Mr. Roosevelt had it built ; a huge box containing a 
comfortable bedroom, dining room, pantry, and a room in 
front for the crew, with a fireplace where the cooking was 
done. The top of the boat was flat, with seats and an awn- 
ing. We had on board a pilot, three hands, and a man cook. 
We always stopped at night, lashing the boat to the shore. 
The row boat was a large one, in which Mr. Roosevelt went 
out constantly with two or three of the men to ascertain the 
rapidity of the ripple or current. 

Mr. Roosevelt stopped at Cincinnati, Louisville, 
and Natchez, then the only places of any impor- 
tance between Pittsburgh and New Orleans. To 
the leading men of these towns he stated his be- 
lief that steamboats on the Ohio and Mississippi 
could be run successfully. River men as well as 
business men laughed at him, declaring that he 
was an idle dreamer. 

But he went ahead with his arrangements, for 
he had made up his mind to build a steamboat 
on his return to Pittsburgh. So confident was he 
of the ultimate success of the project that he pur- 
chased and opened coal mines on the banks of 
the Ohio, and arranged that heaps of coal should be 



FIRST STEAMBOAT ON THE OHIO 245 

stored on the shore, in readiness for the vessel he 
was sure would need the fuel for its engines. 

From New Orleans he went to New York by 
sea. There capitalists were interested in his report. 
In iSii he found himself in Pittsburgh, ready to 
work on the steamboat. 

Men were sent to the forests to cut timber for 
ribs, knees, and beams. These were rafted down 
the Monongahela to the shipyard. Planking was 
cut from white-pine logs in the old-fashioned saw 
pits. A shipbuilder and the mechanics required 
were brought from New York. 

Curious visitors watched the growth of the frame 
and prophesied failure. But Mr. Roosevelt smiled at 
their doubts. 

At last the boat, one hundred and sixteen feet 
lono- was readv, and was christened the New 
Orleans. There was a ladies' cabin containing 
four berths. One of these Mrs. Roosevelt an- 
nounced her intention of occupying. Friends in 
Pittsburgh appealed to her to give up the dangerous 
project, but she insisted that there was no danger; 
she believed in her husl^and. 

"Mr. Roosevelt and herself were the only pas- 
sengers," wrote J. H. B. Latrobe, Mrs. Roosevelt's 
brother, in his account of the trip. " There was a 
captain, an engineer, the pilot, six hands, two 



246 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

female servants, a man waiter, a cook, and an im- 
mense Newfoundland dog. Thus equipped, the 
New Orleans began the voyage which changed 
the relation of the West — which may almost be 
said to have changed its destiny." 

Eager watchers at Pittsburgh saw the vessel 
swing into the stream and disappear round the 
first headlands ; their prophecies of disaster at the 
very start had not been fulfilled. The pilot, the cap- 
tain, and the crew had their misgivings, but these 
were soon set at rest by the behavior of the boat. 

At Cincinnati, which was reached on the second 
day after leaving Pittsburgh, an enthusiastic crowd 
welcomed the vessel. But still there were doubters. 
" Well, you are as good as your word ; }'ou have 
visited us in a steamboat," one of them said. " But 
we see you for the last time. Your boat may go 
down the river; but as to coming up it, the very 
idea is an absurd one." The keel-boatmen shook 
their heads as they crowded around the strange 
visitor. " Some flat-boatmen whose ungainly arks 
the steamboat had passed a short distance above 
the town, and who now floated h\ with the cur- 
rent, seemed to have a better opinion of the new- 
comers. They proposed a tow in case they were 
again overtaken ! But as to the boat's returning, 
all agreed that could never be." 



^^^^^^^BBS 


""r^..:3- '..'. ^;. ' 






^^^^■Er 










^^r, ■■•■ 

■■■-^^ . . ■ . 

3.,, iimt-"-:- „.. ■'-- 


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247 



248 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

The doubters in Cincinnati were convinced when 
the boat returned from Louisville, having been 
stopped by the lack of sufficient water to carry 
it over the Falls. 

When the stage of water was right, Louisville was 
safely passed. Then began days of anxiety, not due 
to the steamer's failure to mind her helm, but to 
the great earthquake of 181 1, which struck terror 
to the hearts of thousands, changed river channels, 
and worked other transformations in the physical 
appearance of the country for hundreds of miles. 

At New Madrid, Missouri, scores of people 
begged to be taken on board. They reported that 
the earth had opened and that many houses and 
their inhabitants had been swallowed up. Other 
settlers hid from the boat, thinking that its ap- 
pearance was a part of the calamity that had 
overtaken the town. 

Indians too were frightened at the approach of 
the steamer. They felt that the smoke from her 
stacks had something to do with the heavy atmos- 
phere which accompanied the earthquake, and that 
she was to be accounted for in much the same 
way as the great comet that had appeared in the 
heavens. Once, when the sound of escaping steam 
was heard, it was thought that the comet had fallen 
into the river. 



FIRST STEAMBOAT ON THE OHIO 249 

One night the New Orleans anchored just below 
an island. In the morning the vessel was in the 
middle of the river. At first it was thought that 
she was adrift. But it was found that the hawser 
with wliich the vessel had been moored still held. 
Then it was evident what had happened : during 
the night the island had disappeared, having been 
broken up by an earthquake. Fragments of sod, 
earth, and floating trees proved this. 

At last the New Orleans passed out of the field 
of the earthquake, and once more there w^as quiet. 
Natchez and New Orleans were reached in good 
time, and the voyage of the first steamboat on the 
Ohio and Mississippi was ended. 

Source. J. H. B. Latrof.F':. The First Steamboat in Western Waters. 
Published by the Maryland Historical Society. 



-.:s U>W^AVUJW^JilA^UauaUA^WAAU>l )^^ 



After the steamboat came the railway. Many laughed at the 
dreams of enthusiasts who said the new means of conveyance 
would displace the canals and that railways would soon be seen 
" meandering " everywhere. But the dreamers persisted, and the 
fourth chapter in the story of American transportation was begun. 



i■rwr\yyn:{Yn^r\rrr«Yr^^vrs^y■r^^Yrvfrr\^yrwn^r^rfr^^ 



CHAPTER XXXVI 

EARLY RAILROAD DREAMERS 

The introduction of steamboats on the Ohio 
and Mississippi caused a rapid increase in the trade 
of the East with the West. Cincinnati, Louisville, 
and New Orleans grew in importance. Cities of 
the East became rivals for the trade of these im- 
portant centers, and improvements in transportation 
were planned by many of them. Each wanted to 
grow, even at the expense of its neighbor. 

New York's plans to capture the trade of the 
West included the building of a system of canals 
connecting the Hudson River and the Great Lakes. 
By October, 1825, it was possible to tran.sport 
freight from New York City to Utica, by means 
of the Hudson River and the Erie Canal. 

Already Baltimore had an advantage because 
of the great Cumberland Road, and she planned 

to increase this advantage by other public works. 

250 



EARLY RAILROAD DREAMERS 



251 



Citizens of Philadelphia were eager to perfect a 
system of canals and roads as far west as Pitts- 
burgh. Many pamphlets were printed urging the 
importance of various routes, and the necessity of 
action if Philadelphia were to distance its only 
rivals, " New Orleans, Baltimore, and New York." 

Some of these 
canals were built. 
But there were 
those who argued 
that instead of 
canals, railroads 
should be built. 
A curious pam- 
phlet published 
August I, 1825, 
compared the cost 
of transporting freight by railroad and by canal, and 
showed that the cost by rail would be much less. 

In his estimate the author spoke of a railway 
where horses are employed as the moving power, 
on which one man " could direct 7 horses, a number 
sufBcient to transport 100 tons 3 miles per hour." 

Then he added what must have seemed, at that 
time, a darins: reference to a steam locomotive 
which had been tested in England. " The engine 
was of eight horse power, and consiuned five pecks 




HUR.SE-1U<I\ I N loi I )M(»TIVK, BALTIMORE 
AND OHIO RAILWAY, 1830 



252 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

of coals every hour, or ten bushels for eight hours. 
It drew, in addition to its own weight, which was 
five tons, 32 tons and 8 cwt. three miles and 
three-quarters per hour." He estimated that with 
such a locomotive, on a well-built roadbed, freight 
could be carried one hundred miles in twenty-six 
and one-half hours ! 

After making this somewhat startling comparison, 
the author triumphantly added : 

May we not confidently expect the period when canals 
will no longer be generally used ; and that rail roads will 
be known as the most rational medium of conveyance ? We 
shall then behold them meandering through every district 
where man has fixed his habitation. The inhabitants of 
America, from Mexico to Hudson's Bay — of Astoria on 
the Pacific Ocean, and Philadelphia on the Atlantic — will, 
by this invention be converted into neighbors ; and the 
blessings of commercial intercourse be universally diffused ; 
binding together our species in peace and friendship, by the 
indissoluble band of community of interest. 

Public-spirited men in New York were not idle. 
They proposed many plans for railways which 
would pass Philadelphia by. One of the most 
curious of these proposals was for the Atlantic and 
Michigan Railway, made in a pamphlet published 
in 1829. The route was to be through northern 
New Jersey, southern New York, northern Ohio, 



EARLY RAILROAD DREAMERS 



253 



Indiana, and Illinois, to the Mississippi River at 
Rock Island. No attention was paid to existing 
cities. Even Cleveland, Sandusky, and St. Louis 
were disregarded. There was no thought of going 
near Chicago, for no one had begun to dream 
that Chicago would be of importance. It was not 




JUNCTION OF PENNSYLVANIA STATE CANAL AND THE R.AILROAD 



even proposed to start at New York, but at a 
point near by, which could be reached " by steam 
ferry-boats." 

It was argued by the projectors that this railway 
\\ould " be far more beneficial in its effects on the 
intervening country, and on our national prosperity, 
than to turn the Mississippi itself into the same 
course," and they declared that it " would open to 



254 



REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 



immediate occupation immense tracts of the public 
lands, of the most exuberant fertility." 

One early Pennsylvania enthusiast wrote of the 
possibility of building a railroad on piles ; he urged 
this as a cheap method of construction. But it 
was in Ohio that this method was first tried. In 




STAGECOACH ON RAILS 
Reproduced by permission of the Philadelphia Commercial Museum 

1836 plans were made for the Ohio Railroad 
from the Pennsylvania state line to what is now 
Toledo, a distance of one hundred and seventy- 
seven miles. After three years of preparation work 
was begun. The first pile w^as driven near Fremont, 
Ohio. This method of construction has been 
described by C. P. Leland : 

For the use of the road, ground one hundred feet in 
width was cleared. . . . The piles were driven by a machine 



EARLY RAILROAD DREAMERS 255 

. , . the width of the track. ... A circular saw . . . cut the 
pile to the proper grade, when the driver was moved and 
tiie operation repeated. These machines employed eight 
men and dro\'e about forty miles per day, covering some 
twenty rods in distance. L^pon the head of each pair of 
piles was fitted a tie. . . . Half a pint of salt was deposited 
in the auger hole of each pile, which, permeating the wood 
was expected materially to preserve the same from decay. 
A locomotive saw-mill upon the track, and behind the pile- 
driver, attended by three men, prepared the rails at the rate 
of nine hundred lineal feet per day. . . . On the wood 
stringers thus provided were to be placed iron (" strap ") rails, 
of the weight of twenty-five tons to the mile. Behind all, 
upon the prepared track, was a foundry house for the 
workmen, which moved with the rest of the establishment. 

The historian says that this was " certainly a 
unic[ue railroad-construction-circus. Its like was 
never seen before or since." 

The railway company soon discontinued work, 
and " the railway on stilts," as it has been called, 
was never in use. 

Fifty years later some of the piles were still 
pointed out to curious visitors. 

Soitrces. C. P. Lelaxd. The Ohio Railroad (Tract No. 81, West- 
ern Reserve Historical Society). Cleveland, Ohio. 

Facts and Arguments in Favor of Adopting Railways in Preference 
to Canals in the State of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, 1825. 

LoNf;LEV Bishop. The State Works of Pennsylvania. Yale Uni- 
versity Press. 






With fear and trembling the first steam locomotives were tested. 
Would they run ? Would they stay on the track ? Would they 
prove safe ? One queer contrivance, after frightening the children 
and discouraging the directors of a railroad, was left to rust and go 
to pieces. But other experiments had a more fortunate outcome. 



:fruY/-\yyr^yr^^y,'\^Yr\Yfr\^rrYrfn^yr^-\rr\^yr\^rl'^i^,-\^^ 



CHAPTER XXXVII 

TESTLNG EARLY STEAM LOCOMOTIVES 

The first locomotive in the United States came 
from England. An American engineer, Horatio 
Allen, was sent to England by the Delaware and 
Hudson Canal Company, and ordered four locomo- 
tives, one of which was from the shop of George 
Stephenson, England's first great locomotive builder. 

One of these locomotives, the Stourbridge Lion, 
was shipped from New York, by ri\^er and canal, to 
be tested on the sixteen-and-a-half-mile road of the 
Delaware and Hudson Company from Honesdale 
to Carbondale. 

Curious crowds were present to witness the trial, 
which was made on August 8, 1829. Business was 
at a standstill ; everybody took a holiday because 
of the great event. Excitement was increased when 
a cannon, which had been borrowed for the occa- 
sion, burst after a few rounds had been fired. 

256 



TESTING EARLY STEAM LOCOMOTIVES 257 

Mr. Allen, who had brought the Stourbridge 
Lion from England, was its engineer. Years later 
he told in public this story of the trial : 

It was on the banks of the Lackavvaxen, at the com- 
mencement of the railroad connecting the canal of the 
Delaware and Hudson Canal Company with the coal 
mines, and he who addresses you was the only person 
on that locomotive. The circumstances which led to my 
being alone on the engine were these : 

The road had been built in the summer ; the structure 
was of hemlock timber with rails of large dimensions 
notched on caps placed far apart. The tube had cracked 
and warped from exposure to the sun. 

After about three hundred feet of straight line the 
road crossed Lackawaxen Creek on trestlework about 
thirty feet high, and with a curve of about one hundred 
and fifty to four hundred feet radius. The impression 
was very general that the iron monster would break down 
the road, or that it would leave the track at the curv^e 
and plunge into the creek. My reply to such apprehension 
was that it was too late to consider the probability of such 
occurrences ; that there was no other course but to have a 
trial made of the strange animal which had been brought 
there at great expense, but that it was not necessary that 
more than one should be involved in its fate ; that I would 
take the first ride alone, and the time would come when I 
should look back to the incident with great interest. 

As I placed my hand on the throttle valve handle I was 
undecided whether I should move slowh' or with a fair 
degree of speed, but holding that the road would prove 



25S REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

safe, and preferring, if we had- to go down, to go hand- 
somely, and without any evidence of timidity, I started 
with considerable velocity, passed the curves over the 
creek safely, and was soon out of hearing of the vast 
assemblage present. At the end of two or three miles 
I reversed the valve and returned without accident to 
the place of starting, having made the first locomotive 
trip on the western hemisphere. 

The engineer and the directors were convinced 
that if the power for the cars was to be supplied 
by a locomotive, the wooden rails then in use 
would have to be replaced by iron rails. Since they 
could not afford to make the exchange, they turned 
their thoughts again to mules and horses, with 
which they had been content until word reached 
them of the success of the locomotive in England. 

The Stourbridge Lion was run off the rails near the 
canal lock, where it was permitted to stand, an object 
of dread to all the children in the neighborhood, who 
made long detours to avoid passing the monster. When 
winter came, a rough board shed was built over it, but 
curious hands soon tore down planks enough to give an 
unobstructed view. There the Stourbridge Lion stood 
for fourteen years. By that time so many parts had 
been broken off and carried away that it was useless 
as a locomotive. Then the boiler was taken to the 
Carbondale shop of the company to supply steam for a 
stationary engine until it was worn out, when it was 
consigned to the ignominious oblivion of the scrap heap. 




I ANAI r.Akt.l, A I THK SUMMIT OF THK ALLEGHENY PORTAtiE 
Reproduced by permission of the Philadelphia Commercial Museum 




OLD STATE PORTAGE RAILWAY, CROSSING ALLEGHENIES 
Reproduced by permission of the Philadelphia Commercial Museum 

259 



26o REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 



The other • locomotives, brought from England 
at such great cost, were never even tested ; indeed, 
their wheels never rested on the rails. The last 
known of them is that they were put in a storage 
warehouse in New York City. 

But it was only a few months after the trial of 
the Stourbridge Lion that the locomotive won its 

right to stay on 
an American rail- 
way. 

On August 28, 
1830, on the Balti- 
more and Ohio 
Railway, the Tom 
Thumb, built by 
Peter Cooper, made 
a trial trip. This 
was not a work- 
ing locomotive, 
but only a work- 
inor model, built to show the discouragred directors 
that steam power would solve their diflFiculties. 
They were doubtful if a steam locomotive could 
run around the sharp curves on the line, but 
Mr. Cooper told them he " could knock together 
a locomotive which would get a train around the 
Point of Rocks." 




THE TOM THU^rB 



TESTING EARLY STEAM LOCOMOTIVES 261 

This is the story of the building of the loco- 
motive as told by Mr. Cooper: 

I told them that if they would hold on a little while, 
I would put a small locomotive on the road which I 
thought would demonstrate the practicability of using steam 
engines on the road, even with all the short turns in it. 
I got up a small engine for that purpose, and put it on 
the road, and invited the stockholders to witness the 
experiment. After a great deal of trouble and difficulty 
in accomplishing the work, the stockholders came and 
thirty-six men were taken into a car, and, with six men 
on the locomotive, which carried its own fuel and water, 
and having to go up hill eighteen feet to a mile, and 
over all the short turns around the points of rocks, we 
succeeded in making the thirteen miles, on the first pas- 
sage out, in an hour and twelve minutes ; and we returned 
from EUicott's Mills to Baltimore in fifty-seven minutes. 

Encouraged, the directors decided to adopt steam 
for the road. Other engines were built. The prob- 
lem of how to go around short curves was solved 
by the invention of an improved truck. 

Mr. Cooper's quiet boast, " my contrivance saved 
the road from bankruptcy," was justified. His Tom 
Thumb had seen service sixty-six clays before the 
trial of the first permanent locomotive. 

Sources. Carter. When Railroads were New. Henry Holt and 
Company, New York. 

R.-\.v.Mu.NU. Peter Cooper. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 



'~i^M^UJJU/ ^u/AJ^xvJ:xuJx\Jv^uJ XKJJ^^ 



In the early days of the railroad a man who jeered at the plans 
of railway builders declared that rapid railway travel would develop 
a new brain disease. Business men would be so befuddled that 
they would forget their destination and would have to write home 
to find it. They would be so dizzy on leaving the train that they 
would dash headforemost into the nearest obstacle, and would be 
badly hurt. 

Yet Americans were not to be deterred from railroad building 
by any such prophecies of disaster. 



irr\xfr\{rnrrr\Yrnrrr\rrriYYr\YrniynYrnrfn^ 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 

A PIONEER RAILROAD 

In 1813 Oliver Evans of Pennsylvania made a 
prophecy which was looked on as the dream of a 
half-crazed man. He said: 

The time will come when people will travel in stages 
moved by steam engines, from one city to another, almost 
as fast as birds can fly, fifteen or twenty miles an hour. 
Passing through the air with such velocity will be the most 
exhilarating exercise. To accompHsh this, two sets of rail- 
ways will be laid, so nearly level as not to deviate more than 
two degrees from the horizontal, made of wood or iron, on 
smooth paths of broken stone or gravel, with a rail to guide 
the carriages so they may pass each other in different direc- 
tions, and they will travel by night as well as by day. Pas- 
sengers will sleep in these stages as comfortably as they 
now do in steam barge boats. Twenty miles an hour is 
about thirty-two feet a second, and the resistance of the air 

262 



A PIONEER RAILROAD 263 

about one pound to the square foot, but the body of the car- 
riage will be shaped like a swift swimming fish to pass 
easily through the air. The United States will be the first 
nation to make the discovery and her wealth and power will 
rise to an unparalleled height. 

In response to such prophecies there came from 
England forecasts of dreadful things that would 
happen if this reckless traveling were ever in- 
dulged in. One man wrote : 

Reader, how would you like to be put in a box like a 
coach or a sedan and be dropped out of the window of the 
fifth or sixth flat of a house. Sixty-six miles an hour is the 
highest velocity attained by falling bodies in one hundred 
feet. Even supposing that means were found to abate one- 
half of the violent shock in stopping, enough remains to 
terrify considerate men from risking their persons in such 
species of convevance. Till we have bodies of brass or iron, 
or better methods of protecting them than we have now, it 
is preposterous to talk of traveling fifty or sixty miles an 
hour as a practical thing. 

In spite of all such forebodings, railroads were 
built. In Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and else- 
where horse-power railways were constructed, and 
the people who used them thought them marvels 
of speed. But the honor of having the first rail- 
road to declare for steam power belongs to the 
South. The Charleston and Hamburg Railroad 
was chartered by the South Carolina legislature 



264 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

May 12, 1828, to build from Charleston to the 
Savannah River, one hundred and thirty-six miles. 
Horatio Allen, the chief engineer engaged by the 
new line, at a meeting of the board of directors 
in 1830, recommended the adoption of the steam 
locomotive, for he declared that " there was no 




THE DEWITT CLINTON AND THE FIRST TR.-\IN IN NEW 
YORK STATE, 1831 



reason to expect any material improvement in the 
breed of horses, but the man was not living who 
knew what the breed of locomotives was to place 
at command." The directors had experimented in 
the use of sail power, and had found this unsatis- 
factory. They had also paid five hundred dollars 
to the man who devised the best scheme for draw- 
ing cars by horses, but they were not satisfied 



A PIONEER RAILROAD 265 

with the performance of the prize contrivance, 
although this enabled one horse to draw a car with 
twelve passengers at a speed of twelve miles an 
hour. So they were readily persuaded to adopt the 
suggestion of their engineer. 

The engine built for the new road, the first 
locomotive constructed in America, was called 
" The Best Friend of Charleston." It had an up- 
right boiler that looked like a gigantic bottle. The 
smoke escaped through openings in the sides of 
the boiler. 

The trial trip was made on November 2, 1830. 
" The wheels proved to be so weak that one of 
them sprang out of shape and threw the engine 
into the ditch on the return trip. A second trip 
was made on December 14, and a third on the 
following day, when the Best Friend proved to 
possess power double the contract requirements. 
It was able to make sixteen to twenty-one miles 
an hour with forty or fifty passengers in four or 
five cars, and to attain a speed of thirty-five miles 
an hour without cars." 

The engineer on these trial trips, named Dar- 
rell, the foreman in a Charleston machine shop, 
was so delighted with his experience that he gave 
up his job as machinist to become the first regular 
locomotive engineer in America. The Best Friend 



266 REAL STORIES EROM OUR HISTORY 

came very near killing him a few months later. 
Not liking the noise of steam escaping from the 
safety valve, the negro fireman fastened it shut. 
The boiler exploded, scalding Darrell severely and 
so injuring the fireman that he died two days 
later. After that the locomotive was regarded with 




PAS.s|;\(,i K ^r\l|(iN AXn HOTKL IX THE ALLEGHKXN Mi M XTAIXS 
Reproduced by permission of the Philadelphia Commercial Museum 

suspicion. For a long time a " barrier car " piled 
high with cotton bales was interposed between the 
locomotive and the train to protect passengers 
from possible explosions. 

Regular passenger service was instituted Janu- 
ary 15, 1831. Two coaches were attached to the 
engine of the first train. These, like most of the 



A PIONEER RAILROAD 267 

early passenger cars, were really stagecoaches on 
wheels. At that time no one thought of departing 
from this design. 

A bride and groom from New York state were 
visiting friends in Charleston at the time. When 
the bride heard that a steam locomotive was to 
make its first trip drawing a trainload of passen- 
gers, she begged to go along. She was so enthu- 
siastic over the experience that on her return home 
she continued to talk about it. Her enthusiasm 
aroused the interest of her father-in-law, who had 
long been interested in a plan to provide trans- 
portation facilities for central New York by means 
of canals and a horse-power railway. When his 
daughter-in-law said she was sure a steam railway 
like that in South Carolina would enable passen- 
gers to go from New York to Buffalo in twenty- 
four hours, her statement won his attention. The 
estimate was thought to be extravagant, but her 
father-in-law was led to change his plans, and to 
persuade others to do the same thing. The build- 
ing of the Erie Railroad was the result. The bride s 
prophecy was soon more than justified. 

To the engineer of the South Carolina road was 
due another epoch-making suggestion. The rails 
of the road were of wood, six by twelve inches. 
On these was spiked strap iron half an inch thick 



268 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

by two and a half inches wide. This structure was 
so weak that the engineer suggested dividing the 
weight of the engine by constructing it with six 
and even eight wheels and limiting the load on 
each wheel to a ton and a half. Immediately Mr. 
Allen designed a locomotive according to his pro- 
posal which had one pair of drivers behind and 
a four-wheeled truck forward. Charles F. Carter 
says : " The merits of the four-wheeled truck were 
so obvious that it was universally adopted. With- 
out it the railroad could not have been developed." 
The first locomotive with such a truck succeeded 
in drawing four cars containing one hundred and 
seventeen passengers a distance of two and three- 
fourths miles in eleven minutes. 

Sotines. Charles F. Carter. When Railroads were New. Henry 
Holt and Company, New York. 

Kennedy. Wonders and Curiosities of the Railway. Hurst and Co., 
New York. 



-.!yXM^>^UAVUJ^AUauaW^VVJAA.U/AUAAUA^^^ 



Think, of a locomotive with wooden spokes and wrought-iron 
tires, which was so light that four men could start it by pushing. 
These were features of " Old Ironsides," the mighty engine that 
was the pride of Philadelphia in 1832, when it made its first trip 
on the six-mile road to Germantown. 



irwr\yyr^.rvrfr\^rr\rrr\^rr\^rn^rrwr^Yr,'^^^r\^ 



CHAPTER XXXIX 

THE BUILDING OF ''OLD IRONSIDES" 

In 1 83 1 there was much interest in America in 
the description of the locomotives which had been 
built in England. Everybody was curious to see 
one of these strange contrivances. Franklin Peale, 
the manager of the Philadelphia Museum, thought 
that if he could exhil^it a model, crowds would be 
attracted. So he asked Matthias Baldwin, a Phila- 
delphia manufacturer, to make a miniature locomo- 
tive. After a careful study of published descriptions 
and sketches of locomotives exhibited in England, 
Mr. Baldwin completed an engine which was, on 
April 15, 1831, placed in the Museum on a circular 
track of pine boards, surfaced with hoop iron. 

The officers of the Germantown and Norristown 

Railway, who operated by horse power a line six 

miles long, were encouraged by the success of the 

model to commission the young locomotive builder 

269 



270 



REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 



to construct a practical engine for the line. The 
Camden and Amboy Railroad Company had im- 
ported a locomotive from England. Mr. Baldwin 
sought the building where the parts, which had 
not yet been assembled, were stored. He " carefull\- 
observed the various parts of the niachine, made a 




"OLD IRONSIDES"' 



few measurements and at last crept under the pon- 
derous boiler. Here he remained in absorbed study 
for nearly half an hour. As he emerged from his 
retreat, his face was glowing with enthusiasm and 
he exclaimed, ' I can make it.' " 

He succeeded in making a practical locomotive, 
not entirely according to the measurements and 



THE BUILDING OF "OLD IRONSIDES" 271 

details of tlie model at Camden, but introducing 
many improvements. 

The work on this memorable pioneer among American 
locomotives occupied about six months. It was driven for- 
ward under a pressure of difficulties which would have dis- 
heartened a less determined man. Not the least of these 
was the lack of any place to do the heavy forging. The 
only blacksmith shop in the factory was in the cellar, and 
all the unwieldy work on the engine had to be done in other 
establishments. The cylinders were bored by a chisel fixed 
in a block of wood and turned with a crank worked by 
hand. Mr. Baldwin not only did much of the work with 
his own hands, but trained the workmen who assisted him, 
and devised tools at every stage of progress. 

At length, in spite of obstacles, " Old Ironsides," 
as the locomotive came to be called, was completed. 

The trial trip was gratifying. A speed of twenty- 
eight miles an hour was develoj^ed. The Philadel- 
phia Chronicle of November 24, 1832, in rejoicing 
over the success of the experiment, made the 
prophecy that the city's mechanics " will hereafter 
supply nearly all the public works of this descrip- 
tion in the country." 

"Old Ironsides" weighed seven tons. The 
directors thought seriously of rejecting it because 
it was too heavy, yet, when the time came for 
the trial trip, the discovery was made that addi- 
tional weight was needed to keep it on the track. 



272 



REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 




'THE TRAVELER," BALTIMORE AND 
OHIO RAILROAD 



This was supplied 
when the builder 
and two mechan- 
ics jumped aboard, 
after pushing the 
engine until the 
wheels were mov- 
ing rapidly. 

Then came the 
disconcerting dis- 
covery that the 
boiler was too 
small to generate a constant supply of steam. The 
deficiency was remedied by the three extra men on 
the engine, who 
alighted from time 
to time and pushed 
until there was 
enough steam for 
further unaided 
progress. 

On another oc- 
casion it was found 
that the new loco- 
motive would iiot 
run when the rails 

"THE YORK," BALTIMORE AND OHIO 

were wet ; the use railroad, issi 





M 



S S 



^1- 4i 

60 a. «3r S 









/^ -a 



273 



274 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

of sand had not yet been thought of as a solu- 
tion of the difficuhy. Consequently the advertise- 
ment in Poulson's Aniericaii Daily Advertiser, of 
November 26, 1832, declared that " the locomo- 
tive engine will depart daily when tlie weather is 
fair, with a train of passenger cars. On rainy days 
horses will be attached." 

Still another dif^culty stood in Mr. Baldwin's 
way. " No engineers in the country were prepared 
to run the new machine. There was only one man 
in the shop besides Mr. Baldwin who understood 
her construction well enough to make a successful 
trip with her. He was taken sick at the beginning 
of her career. Others were tried, and soon lost all 
patience with the intricate work. Day after day 
the president of the road, who had insisted from the 
first that there were radical defects in the machine, 
threatened to condemn the work, and throw it 
back on Mr. Baldwin's hands." 

Mr. Baldwin's biographer says that one of the 
few moments of despondency in his whole life was 
occasioned by the ungracious reception awarded 
to this machine. In the spring of 1833, when he 
finally received thirty-five hundred dollars for his 
work (five hundred dollars less than the contract 
price), he remarked to one of his apprentices with 
much decision, "That is our last locomotive." 



THE BUILDING OF "OLD IRONSIDES" 275 

The depression was only momentary. " Old 
Ironsides" did its work well. In fact, after many 
years of hard service, the engine is still in run- 
ning order. It is kept in the Baldwin Locomotive 
Works in Philadelphia. 

Though Mr. Baldwin was eager for an oppor- 
tunity to build another locomotive, he did not 
receive a second order for several years. The new 
engine was such a great improvement on the first 
attempt that many other orders followed. A few 
years later nothing but locomotives was produced 
in Mr. Baldwin's factory. 

Sonne. Wolcott Calkins. Life of M. W. Baldwin. Privately 
printed, 1867. 



.:sUWJX\UA VL-^UUW_^^UAU^W<WXM J^^ 



American ingenuity was put to the test in the early years of the 
railroads. The almost daily call for the solution of difficult prob- 
lems was answered by the invention of new devices. But always 
men were equal to the emergency of the moment, and passengers 
were transported with what seemed marvelous rapidity. 



irK^r\Yyr^crn^r\rrrwr\rrr\YYr\xrrwr\yyi-y^ 



CHAPTER XL 

PRIMITIVE RAILROAD CONTRIVANCES 

The builders of a few of the eadier railroads 
made their tracks five feet between the rails ; 
" five-foot gauge roads " they were called. Among 
these early railroads were the Ohio and Mississippi, 
and the Louisville and Nashville. The Erie Rail- 
road adopted a six-foot gauge. The engineer of 
the Erie, noting that the trend of railway building 
was for a narrow gauge, urged his directors to 
change their plans. They hesitated because of 
the expense of a quarter of a million dollars that 
would be involved. For forty years they were able 
to conduct the road on the old basis. Then they 
realized that the continued existence of the road 
depended on a change, and this was made at an 
expense of twenty-five million dollars. 

For many years the people thought it an ad- 
vantage to have roads of different gauge. It never 

276 



PRIMITIVE RAILROAD CONTRIVANCES 277 

occurred to them that it would be a wonderful 
help if trains could run through for hundreds of 
miles over the lines of different roads. Towns 
and cities which were the terminal points of short 
roads preferred to have the journey broken by the 
passengers, so that the hackmen, the restaurants, 
and the hotels might profit by the delay caused 
by the transfer of passengers. For this reason 




"JUHX BULL" LOCOMOTIVE AND TRAIN, PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD 

union depots were not looked upon with favor: 
the farther apart depots were, the better. When 
the first railway entered Chicago, the residents 
were up in arms against the proposition made by 
the Michigan Central and the Illinois Central to 
enter on the same tracks and make use of the 
same station. 

To such an extent was this division of roads 
carried that when, in 1857, the Ohio and Missis- 
sippi Railway opened the route from Cincinnati 



278 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

to St. Louis, the passes issued to New York guests 
were indorsed by the officers of forty-two roads. 
Of course it was not necessary to pass over all 
these roads, but the privilege was given of using 
any of them in choosing the route. The guests 




FREIGHT CAR, 1S32 



who used a special train left Baltimore at six 
o'clock in the morning of June i, 1857, and ar- 
rived in Grafton, two hundred and seventy-nine 
miles distant, in fifteen hours. The night was 
spent there, and Parkersburg was reached next 
day. The party then took steamers twelve miles to 
Marietta. The next night was spent in Chillicothe, 



PRIMITIVE RAILROAD CONTRIVANCES 279 



then the capital of Ohio, and the following night 
at Cincinnati. Thence the journey to St. Louis 
was made with comparati\'e ease. 

In 1846 the Erie Railroad talked of changing 
their gauge from six feet to the standard width. The 
citizens of Erie 
protested. Finally 
they tore up por- 
tions of seven 
miles of the Erie's 
track, and passen- 
gers had to be 
transferred across 
the gap in the dead 
of winter. This 
trip, called "cross- 
ing the isthmus," 
was much dreaded 
by the passengers, 
many of whom had t«e first train from Baltimore to 

r ^ 1 1 1 ST. LOUIS, BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAIL- 

feet, hands,^ and ^o,^^ ^^^^ 

faces frostbitten. 

It is related as a curiosity of railroad history 
that the gauge of roads in Ohio was made by law^ 
four feet and ten inches because an engine with 
a whistle had been brought into the state. The 
gauge of the engine was four feet and ten inches, 




28o REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 



and all future track laid was to be of the same width, 
that similar engines might be used — as if a whistle 
could not be put on an engine of standard gauge! 
Of course this law was changed before long. 

It is recorded by Carter that " the problem of 
gauge was not finally settled by the railroads of 

the United States 
until 1 886. Be- 
tween May 2 2 
and June 2 of 
that year twelve 
thousand miles 
of railroad in 
the South were 
changed from 
wide to stand- 
ard gauge. The 
Louisville and 
Nashville, by using a force of 8763 men, was able 
to change the gauge of 1806 miles of main line 
and sidings in a single day." 

Other changes in the construction of railway 
equipment came about much more easily. For 
instance, the early conductors had no way of com- 
municating with the engineer when the train was 
in motion. One conductor on the Erie thought 
out a scheme to obviate the difficulty. He stretched 




"THE ATLANTIC." r.ALriMoKK AXU OHIO 
R.4ILROAD, 1832 



PRIMITIVE RAILROAD CONTRIVANCES 281 



a stout curd from the rear car to the engine ; at 
the end of the cord was a billet of wood. Instruc- 
tions were given to the engineer that the jerking 
of the billet would be a signal to stop the train. 
The engineer did not fancy the innovation, so he 
disconnected the cord and refused to replace it 
till the conductor 
beat him in a 
wrestling match. 
From the billet 
of wood to the 
Qiono- at the en- 
gineer's elbow was 
an easy step. 

For some time 
after the intro- 
duction of the 
telegraph, there 
was no system "the costell,- Baltimore and ohio 

f. . . , . RAILROAD, 1831 

or givmg tram 

orders. The rule was that all eastbound and north- 
boimd trains had the right of way. When the 
favored train was late a westbound or southbound 
train had to wait. After an hour it was allowed to 
proceed, but only slowly. A flagman had to walk 
twenty minutes ahead of such a train. Imagine 
the result when a train was several hours late. 







1 


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282 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

When the Chicago and Galena Union Raih-oad 
was opened, there was a lookout station in the 
tower of the Chicago terminus, manned by an 
employee with a telescope. With this he scanned 
the prairies, and when he discovered the smoke 
of an approaching train, he called on the station 
men to prepare to receive it. 

When more modern methods were proposed, 
the train crews murmured, but thev soon realized 
the advantage of new plans. 

Source. Charles Frederick Carter. When Railroads were 
New. Henry Holt and Company, New York. 



uJ^uwJ^^iJJ^uxkUJMJw^|AKUl^uJ^u^xKJ^^vv^ 



At first the thought of a railroad from the Mississippi to the 
Pacific coast seemed an idle dream. Capitalists declared that such 
a road could never pay expenses. But there were men of vision, 
determined men ; obstacles in their way merely spurred them to 
new efforts. And the dream came true. 



±~wr\Yrr^Ynffr\rrnrrr\yYr\Yrr\\rr\rrr\xrr\^^rv^ 



CHAPTER XLI 

THE FIRST TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD 

When gold was discovered in California hundreds 
of thousands of men were eager to find their way 
thither. Some went by sea, around Cape Horn; 
others went by wa}^ of the Isthmus of Panama; 
while many crossed the plains. Whatever route 
was chosen, there were dangers to be faced — the 
storms of a perilous passage, the fever-breeding 
air of the tropics, or the attacks of prowling bands 
of Indians. 

Railroad men watched the going and coming of 
men by these three routes, and wished that they 
might profit by the movement of such a large 
number of people and their baggage. At first they 
said it was impossible to build a railroad across the 
trackless plains of the West. Then they began to 
wish they could do it. At last they decided to 

attempt the impossible. 

-83 



2S4 REAL STORIES FRO:^! OUR HISTORY 

Some people did no more than talk about the 
great work to be done. While they talked others 
were studying the country, looking for the best 
route for the road they believed would some day 
drive out of business the Pony Express and the 
freicrht wacrons. 

The expense of building such a road would be 
so great that the help of the United States govern- 
ment was needed. Congress was therefore asked 
for assistance, and it was decided to offer the road 
builders sixteen thousand dollars in bonds and ten 
sections of public land along the line of the road 
for even' mile completed. Later this subsidv was 
increased to twenty sections per mile, and large 
amounts in bonds, according to the dil^cultv of the 
work done. 

Two companies were organized to do the work — 
the Centml Pacific Railwav, which began to build 
eastward from Sacramento, the capital citv of 
California, and the Union Pacific Railway, which 
built westward from Council Bluffs, Iowa. 

\"er\- soon the new project was called the overland 
route. The name is credited to a San Francisco 
German who had nothing to do with the railroad. 
It was his habit to ask everv stranger who came 
to the city during the days of the gold excitement, 
" Did vou come the Horn around, the Isthmus 



FIRST TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD 285 

across, or the land over ? " When the railway was 
begun it was called the land-over route. Very natu- 
rally this was soon changed to the overland route. 

There were great difficulties in the way of the 
railwav builders. The eastern railwavs were not 









Si^^^^^^B^O 


l^^^^^^^^K^S^'' ' 


_^^^|SISEmP1 




P^5r^^3i^^^ 7 



THE EVOLUTION OF TR_ANSPORTATION IN FOUR STAGES 

Juniata River, with rowboat ; Pennsylvania State Canal, with barge ; Penn- 
sylvania Railroad, original roadbed ; Pennsylvania Railroad, modern 

roadbed 

(Reproduced by permission of the Philadelphia Commercial Museum) 

completed to Council Bluffs, and all material for 
the new road had to be taken across country or 
up the Missouri River. Construction machinery 
for the western end of the line was shipped 
round Cape Horn. The first locomotive used for 
a construction train on the Central Pacific was 



286 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

hauled across country by horses. There were no 
trees along many miles of the proposed route ; ties, 
bridge timbers, and material for buildings were 
carried at great expense for hundreds of miles. It 
is said that many of the ties had cost as much as 
$2.50 each by the time they were put in place. 

But the greatest difficulty was caused by the 
Indians. At first the builders of the Union Pacific 
had no trouble with the children of the plains, for 
they made a treaty with them by which the site of 
the present city of Omaha was secured. But later 
the Indians opposed the progress of the road almost 
daily. They turned up when they were least ex- 
pected. They would either shoot at the workmen 
from ambush or make an open attack on them. 
They would pull up the surveyors' stakes and burn 
them. They delighted to burn station buildings. 

Charles Frederick Carter has told of a party of 
ten railroad men, who, when they were attacked by 
Indians, unwisely sought shelter in a clump of 
sagebrush, some five hundred feet distant. The 
sagebrush afforded no protection to the hunted 
men, but it provided a cover under which the 
Indians could creep up on them. 

Before night the red men had succeeded in 
killing some of the party; three only managed to 
escape in the darkness. 



FIRST TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD 287 

The first attempts made by the Indians to stop 
trains were unsuccessful, for they did not reaHze 
the power of a locomotive. Once sixty braves, 
thirty on each side of the track, tried to halt a 
train by stretching a lariat before it. Failure in 




KklNlXG THK LAS'l" Sl'lkK. I MoN l'.\L I I U \\\< (.KNTRAL PACIFIC 
RAILROADS, MAY, 1869, FROMONTURV, UTAH 



such attempts led them to take more effective 
measures. Obstructions were placed on the track, 
trains were wrecked, and many men were killed. 
There were so many attacks on trains that 
soldiers were detailed to guard the tracks. Fre- 
quently the cunning savages eluded the guards; 



288 REAL STORIES EROM OUR HISTORY 

more than once, however, wreckers were surprised 
in the midst of their fiendish work. One day 
General G. M. Dodge was with his soldiers at Plum 
Creek, two hundred miles west of Omaha, when 
word reached him that a freight train had been 
captured a few miles east of that station. An 
engine was coupled to a car in which volunteers 
had been crowded, and the scene of the attack was 
reached before the Indians realized their danger. 
Few of the savages escaped. 

Effective help in protecting the road was given 
by Major F"rank J. Xott, who engaged four com- 
panies of Pawnee Indians. With the aid of these 
scouts the plans of the Cheyennes and the Sioux 
were very often discovered in time to warn the 
laborers of threatened danger. 

Finallv General Grant led troops into the dis- 
puted country and made peace with the Indians. 
The treaty guaranteed to the railway builders the 
right to go on with their work. 

The road was begun earl}- in 1S63, but it was 
May 10, 1869, before the last rail was laid and the 
last spike was driven. At first progress was slow, 
but later the work was done rapidly. The builders 
of the Central Pacific naturallv wished the meetinor 
point to be as far east as possible, and the builders 
of the Union Pacific were just as eager that it 



FIRST TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD 289 

should be as far west as possible, for each mile 
meant a small fortune from the government. 

/\s the two roads came closer together, excite- 
ment was great. Newspapers sent their best corre- 
spondents to the front, commissioned to prepare 
picturesque stories of the contest. Every morning 
readers watched eagerly for the report of the prog- 
ress made the day before by the ri\al builders. 
And when the news was flashed that at last the 
golden spike had been driven — at Promontory, 
Utah — there was widespread rejoicing. The gap 
of 1800 miles had been closed, and at last it 
was possible to ride b}' rail from the Atlantic to 
the Pacific. 

Sources. Charles Frederick Carter. When Railroads were 
New. Henry Holt and Company, New York. 

Talbot. The Railroad Conquest of the World. J. B. Lippincott 
Company, Philadelphia. 



.^U^UJ>(AL.;V<UUUAVL!aWMUAAvW^MJA'.L^A^WAVL!^VUA 



After the railroad, the telegraph. The conquest of time and 
space was not yet complete. Modem business called for yet more 
speedy means of communication. Once more a man of vision 
came forward ; and once more the man of vision conquered the 
obstacles in his path. 



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CHAPTER XLII 



THE STORY OF THE TELEGRAPH 

In 1S32 a young man named Samuel F. B. 
Morse was returning on the ship Sully from Europe, 
where he had been studying art, to which he had 
planned to devote his life. But his thoughts were 
turned in a different direction by what seemed to 
be an accident. A chance con\-ersation about the 
mysteries of electricity led him to wonder if words 
might not be sent by electricity. Before the voyage 
was over he had thought out a system of signs. 

To the captain of the ship he remarked one dav, 
" Well, if you hear of the telegraph one of these 
days as the wonder of the world, remember that the 
discovery was made on board the good ship Sully." 

As soon as he landed he began to make experi- 
ments. Many times he was forced to turn from these 
while he earned money for expenses by working as 

an artist. In 1835 he set up his first rude apparatus. 

290 



THE STORY O?^ THE TELEGRAPH 291 



He cooked, ate, and slept in the room with his model, 
not only because he was poor, but because he wanted 
to give every possible moment to his invention. 

For years he worked, trying first one plan and 
then another, and then beginning all over again. 
Friends told him he would never succeed, but 
he answered : 
"If I can suc- 
ceed in work- 
ino; a mairnet 
ten miles, I 
can go round 
the globe." 

One of his 
students, who 
witnessed an 
early experi- 
ment with the telegraph, described, in the following 
words, the primitive appliances used : 

I can see now that rude instrument constructed with an 
old stretching frame, a wooden clock, a home-made battery, 
and the wire stretched many times round the walls of the 
studio. With eager interest we gathered about it, as our 
master explained its operation, while with a clock, click, click, 
the pencil, by a succession of dots and lines, recorded the 
message in cipher. The idea we knew, but we had little 
faith. To us it seemed a dream of enthusiasm. We grieved 
to see the sketch on the canvas untouched. 




RECORDING INSTRUMENT ON WHICH THE FIRST 
TELEGRAPHIC MESSAGE WAS RECEIVED 



292 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

When the invention was perfected, it was pat- 
ented in the United States and in France, although 
the apphcation for patent liad been refused in 
England on the ground that the invention was not 
new. Congress was requested to appropriate thirty 
thousand dollars for the construction of a trial line, 
but there was vexatious delay- In 1S42 Morse wrote : 

I have not a cent in the world. I am crushed for want 
of means. ... I fear all will fail because I am too poor to 
risk the trifling expenses which my journey to and residence 
in Washington wdll cost me. . . . Nothing but the conscious- 
ness that I have an invention which is to mark an era in 
human civilization, and which is to contribute to the happi- 
ness of millions, would have sustained me through so many 
and such lengthened trials of patience in perfecting it. 

In spite of poverty, further experiments were 
made, one of these resulting in a test of the first 
submarine telegraph, a line two miles long being 
laid in New York harbor, another resulting in the 
knowledge that several currents of electricity could 
pass on the same wire at the same time. 

Finally, on February 27, 1843, by the narrow mar- 
gin of 89 to S3, the appropriation of thirty thousand 
dollars for a trial line passed the House of Repre- 
sentatives. But it seemed certain that the Senate 
would not concur. Two hours before the close of 
the session the inventor went home disheartened. 



THE STORY OF THE TELEGRAPH 293 

He passed a sleepless night, thinking of the thirty- 
seven and a half cents he would have when he 
reached New York, a disappointed man. Early in 
the morning, however, he had a call from Miss 
Annie Ellsworth, daughter of the Commissioner 
of Patents, who brought word that the bill was the 
last passed at the session. The gratified inventor 
promised her that she should send the first mes- 
sage over the trial line from Baltimore to Washing- 
ton. When, a year later, the line was ready for 
operation, she sent the historic message, trans- 
mitted by the inventor, "What hath God wrought?" 
A few days later, when Silas Wright was nomi- 
nated for Vice President by the Democratic 
Convention in session at Baltimore, word was tele- 
graphed to Mr. Wright in Washington, who at 
once wired his answer, declining the nomination. 
The convention would not believe that a message 
had so soon been sent and the response correctly 
received till a delegation was sent all the way to 
Washington to learn the truth. 

The trial line was opened for business in 1845, 
the price for messages being a cent for four let- 
ters. Within six months the Magnetic Telegraph 
Company constructed a line from Philadelphia to 
Norristown, a distance of seventeen miles, and in 
June, 1846, this was continued to Baltimore. 



294 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

Years passed before capitalists were ready to 
invest large amounts in new lines. It was difficult 
to convince them that the invention was practical. 
Gradually, however, traffic increased. Messages that 
began with " Dear Sir " and closed with " Yours 
truly " gave way to more concise communications. 
By 1852 the telegraph had won its place. 

In 1853 there were twenty-five thousand miles 
of wire in America. To-day there are in operation 
in the United States more than a million and a 
half miles of lines. 

Sources. Jeans. Lives of the Electricians. Whittaker and Co., 
London. 

Edward Lind Morse. Samuel F. B. Morse, His Letters and 
Journals. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 



j^ UtUJXVUUL^UU;VL'aUM\^^AA.U^^UA\UA^W/AU^^^ 



I 

1'rwr^YYri<YrvYr\^rr\rrn\rr\^rn\rr\rrr\yyr^^^r^,-^■rr^^^ 



After the telegraph came the telephone. The first telephone 
company ventured to promise that the voice of a subscriber could 
be heard a distance of twenty miles. Nearly everybody doubted. 
Now the voice can be transmitted more than three thousand miles. 
And the world waits confidently for further triumphs. 



CHAPTER XLIII 

THE MARVELOUS HISTORY OF THE 
TELEPHONE 

The invention of the telephone was one of the 
accidents which have enabled keen-witted scientists, 
while carrying on investigations of an entirely 
different nature, to give to the world an undreamed- 
of and epoch-making discovery. Alexander Graham 
Bell was making experiments, hoping to learn 
some new facts bearing on the problem how to 
transmit many messages at the same time over a 
single wire. One day a wire, snapping in two, 
sent a sound through another wire which had at- 
tached to each end a thin sheet-iron disk a few 
inches in circumference. Could that sound be 
repeated ? Experiment gave an affirmative answer. 
Then arose the important query, " Could vocal 
sounds be transmitted thus ? " A parchment dia- 
phragm with a sheet-iron button in the center 

295 



296 REAL STORIES EROM OUR HISTORY 

was stretched across the mouth of a thin metal 
cylinder about three inches in diameter. A look 
inside that metal tube would have shown us 
features not unknown in to-day's perfected receiver, 
two magnets witli poles wound with wire, and 




AN EARLY TELEPHONE SWITCHBOARD 

The calls were received by the man at the desk in the foreground, 
who passed them on to the operators 

(From the Scientific American, 1879) 

between the magnets a small strip of soft iron. 
A similar instrument, with a wire running from 
its coils, was left in charge of Bell's assistant, 
while Bell, with the wire connected with his tubu- 
lar iron-cased telephone, ascended to the attic of 
his house. The assistant, an intelligent young 
man, was directed to remain below. Bell, holding 



THE HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 297 

the diaphragm a few inches from his hps, said in 
ordinary conversational tones, " Can you liear me ? " 
In a moment the assistant came bounding up 
the stairs. "Mr. Bell!" he called out, "I heard 




A MODERN BELL-TELEPHONE SWITCHBOARD 

your question plainly." The first experiment in the 
transmission of articulate speech was a success. 

Much further experimentation was necessary 
before the instrument was ready for demonstration 
to the Patent Office. Finally, the application was 
made, and on March 7, 1876, a patent was granted. 
This, was just before the Philadelphia Centennial 
Exhibition. 



298 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 




The first long-distance use of the telephone 
(From the Scicitiijic American, March 31, 1S77) 



How Bell's invention came to be included among 
the exhibits is another interesting stor}-: 

In June, 1876, Bell was engaged to be married to the 
daughter of Gardiner G. Hubbard, a wealthy Bostonian. 
At that time Mr. Hubbard was residing temporarily in 



THE HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 299 

Philadelphia, having been appointed one of the Massachu- 
setts commissioners to the Centennial. Miss Hubbard and 
her mother decided to pay him a visit, and invited Bell to 
accompany them. He, ho\ve\er, felt obliged to remain in 




rillLADKLI'HIA TO SAN FRAXXTSCO 

A scene in Philadelphia on February ii, 191 5, when telephone service 
was inaugurated between Philadelphia and the Pacific coast. The old 
Liberty Bell in Independence Hall was rung over the line. In the oval is 
shown the Liberty Bell, which was struck with three wooden mallets. The 
tones were transmitted to the transcontinental line by means of the three 
microphone telephone receivers shown side by side, just beneath the bell 

Boston, as he was principal of a school there for deaf 
mutes, and examination days were approaching. He had 
escorted the ladies to their train and, standing near by, was 
waiting for it to steam out on its journey to Philadelphia. 



300 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 

As the train started Miss Hubbard, overcome by disappoint- 
ment, burst into tears. Without a moment's hesitation Bell 
leaped back on the train, though he was utterly unprovided 
for the trip. His trunks were forwarded to him in Phila- 
delphia by his future brother-in-law, William Hubbard. 
That young gentleman, wise beyond his age, was an enthu- 
siastic believer in the telephone, and took care to put the 
latest model of it in a corner of the strongest trunk. 

By Mr. Gardiner Hubbard's advice, Mr. Bell applied for 
permission to place his instrument among the electrical ex- 
hibits of the Centennial. It was toward the close of a 
fatiguing day when the judges reached the telephone. Their 
examination of it was hurried and perfunctory. One cf them 
would not take the trouble to put the receiver to his ear. 
Another judge dropped a disparaging remark as he took out 
his note-book. Bell's heart sank. At that moment, Dom 
Pedro, Emperor of Brazil, entered the room, followed by 
his suite. Himself a scientist of no mean ability, the em- 
peror had examined with interest and admiration the tele- 
phone in Bell's school in Boston. He remembered the 
young inventor, shook hands with him, and requested another 
trial of the instrument. Bell went to the other end of the 
wire and spoke into the transmitter Hamlet's famous soliloquy. 
Dom Pedro's commendation changed the minds of the 
judges. The " toy " was allowed to go on exhibition. Doubt- 
less it would amuse visitors. That it was of no practical 
value was, after all, a minor objection. So reasoned those 
learned personages. . . . The telephone turned out to be 
the Centennial's star exhibit, eliciting unmeasured praise not 
only from distinguished scientists, but from all other visitors 
capable of understanding the theory of its operation. 



THE HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE 301 

In 1877 the telephone was first used, and the 
first prospectus of the Bell Company was issued. 
In this the statement was made, "The proprietors 
are now^ prepared to furnish telephones for the 
transmission of articular speech between instru- 
ments not more than twenty miles apart." The 
next year the first long-distance line, from Boston 
to Salem, sixteen miles, was constructed, and the 
first telephone exchange was established. In 1880 
the second long-distance line was put in operation, 
between Boston and Lowell. Soon it became pos- 
sible to talk between stations one hundred miles 
apart. The line between Boston and New York 
was not opened until 1887, a little later than 
the four-hundred-mile circuit connecting New York, 
Albany, and Buffalo. The first message was sent 
from New York to Chicago in 1892, though the 
line was not opened until 1893. In 1900 a Boston 
merchant could talk to a correspondent in Omaha. 
The next step was taken when conversation with 
Denver was possible. In 191 5 New York mer- 
chants were able to transact business over the 
telephone with San Francisco customers. 

Source. John Vaughn. The Thirtieth Anniversary of a Great 
Invention. Scribner's Magazine., September, 1906. 



INDEX 



(Asterisks (*) refer to illustrations) 



Alamo, the, 130* 

Alleghenies, crossing the, 144, 259*, 
266* 

Allen, Horatio, buys locomotive in 
England, 256; tries Stourbridge 
Lion, 257 ; chief engineer of 
Charleston and Hamburg Rail- 
road, 264 

Arbella, voyage of the, 3 

Audubon, John James, 12S; visits 
republic of Texas, 12S 

Baldwin, Matthias, builder of " Old 
Ironsides," 269 

Barnum, P. T., proposes to exhibit 
gold from California, 195 

Bartram, John, garden and house of, 
60, 61*; self-taught, 61 ; how he 
learned botany, 62 ; journeys of, 
62 ; narrow escape from Indians, 
62 ; cypress planted by, 63*, 64 

Beale, Edward Fitzgerald, first bearer 
of gold to the East, 191 ; pays for 
gold with quinine, 192 ; proposes 
camels for desert transportation, 
201 

Bell, Alexander Graham, inventor 
of the telephone, 295 

Boys, at school, 38 ; occupations of, 
44 ; assistants to whalers, 86 ; 
drivers on canals, 156 

Brainerd, David, goes to house of 
Jonathan Edwards, 72 ; preaches 
to Indians, 72* ; death of, 73 

Bride's first railroad trip and what 
came of it, 267 

Building towns, 16, 52 

Buildings, primitive: houses, 15, 17- 
-j' 45' 57>6i, 129, 130; churches. 



29-37; schoolhouses, 38, 39*, 41*, 
43* ; courthouse, 56* ; gristmill, 
119*; Alamo, 130* 

Burke, Edmund, speech on whal- 
ing, 89 

Burr, Aaron, Sr., marries Esther 
Edwards, 74 ; Aaron Burr, Jr., 76 

California, 100, 169, 170. Cities in 
California: San Francisco, 96; 
Sutter's Fort, 187, 191 ; San Jose, 
190; San Francisco in 1849, I93*> 
Sacramento, 197 ; Placerville, 212 

Camel corps, 202, 203* ; success of 
first trip, 205 ; experiment aban- 
doned, 206 

Camels, importation of, 202 ; feared 
by soldiers, 206 

Canals : Patowmack Canal, 14S*, 
149*, 150; abandoned canals, 153; 
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 1 53 ; 
Erie Canal, 154, 250; accounts of 
canal trips, 157, 159, 160; com- 
parison of railroad and canal, 251 

Carolina, explorers in, 24, 25, 26* 

Carson, Kit, companion of E. F. 
Beale, 202 

Church, going to, 29 ; foot stoves in, 
30, 31 ; slaves in, 30, 31 ; first iron 
stoves in, 31 ; pews in, 32; collec- 
tion in, 34; notices in, 34; pulpit 
in, 34 ; support of, 35 ; application 
for membership in, 49* 

Clay, Henry, statue to, 164 

Clermont, the, Fulton's steamboat, 
229, 233*; speed of, 229; terror 
caused by, 230 

Clothing, of the pioneers, 12, 114, 
184, 186; of Sam Houston, 131 



303 



304 



REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 



Colorado : Denver, twenty-one days 

to, 208 
Columbia River, Lewis and Clark 

spend winter at mouth of, 102 
Conant, A. 11., pioneer in northern 

Illinois, 116 
Connecticut, 13, 17, 18. Cities in 

Connecticut: Hartford, 19, 23, 35, 

220; Windsor, 20; Farmington, 

21 ; Saybrook, 32 ; New Haven, 

36, 141 
Cooper, Peter, builds Tom Thumb 

locomotive, 260, 261 
Custer, General, 211 

Davis, Jefferson, authorizes camels 
for the desert, 202 

Delaware : Wilmington, 32 

Diaries, letters, and journals: John 
Audubon, 128; E. F. Beale, 191; 
A. n. Conant, 116; Eliza Donner, 
169; Margaret Dwight, 141; Esther 
Edwards, 71; John Fitch, 220; 
Elias Pym Fordham, 1 10 ; Robert 
Fulton, 229; William Hilton, 24; 
Robert Horns, 25; Fanny Kemble, 
159; Zenas Leonard, 95; Miss 
Martineau, 159; S. F. B. Morse, 
292; Rembrandt Peale, 225; Wil- 
liam Penn, 52 ; Robert Sandford, 
25; Eliza Southgate, 77; George 
Washington, 147 ; John Winthrop, 
3, 10 

Donner, Eliza, 169; adoption of, 190 

Donner, Frances, 178 

Donner, Georgia, 174 

Donner party, journey of, to Cali- 
fornia, 169; incidents of journey, 
172; accident to Mr. Donner, 175; 
starving in the snow, 177, 180, 183; 
the rescue, 1S3 

Dustin, Hannah, capture of, by In- 
dians and escape, 45-51 

Dustin, Thomas, builds garrison 
house, 45; instructions to, as 
keeper of garrison, 50 

Dustin Memorial, 48* 

Dwight, Margaret, journey of, from 
New Haven to Ohio, 141 

Dynamite, fear of, 125 



Earthquake of 181 1, imperils first 
steamboat on the Ohio, 248 

Edwards, Esther, keeps journal, 71; 
journey to Newark, 74 ; love song 
of, 74 ; marriage to Aaron Burr, 74 

Edwards, Jerusha, death of, 73 

Edwards, Jonathan, 71, 73 

Erie, Lake, 98, 99, 217, 237 

Erie Canal, 154; equipment for 
travel on, 156; packet boat on, 
156*; trips on, 157, 159, 160 

Explorers. In Carolina : Thomas 
Ashe, 27 ; William Hilton, 24 ; 
Robert Horns, 25; Robert Sand- 
ford, 25. In Massachusetts: John 
Winthrop, 11. In the West: Ze- 
nas Leonard, 93; Lewis and Clark, 
100; George Washington, 147, 148 

Fireflies, described by explorers, 27 

First trip, of stagecoach, 137 ; of 
Fitch's steamboat, 225; of the 
Clermont, 229; of the North 
River, 231 ; of the Walk-in-the- 
Water, 237 ; of the New Orleans, 
245; of the Stourbridge Lion, 257 ; 
of the Best Friend of Charleston, 
265 
/Fitch, John, 220 ; early life of, 221 ; 
fir^ steamboat, 222*; has first 
idea of steamboat, 224 ; trial trip 
of first steamboat, 225; third 
steamboat, model of 1788, 226*; 
fails to secure rights, 227; death 
of, 228 

Floating islands, 121 

Floods, on Mississippi River, 106; 
on Red River, 124 

Florida, 62, 98 

Foot stoves, in church, 31 

Fordham, Elias Pym, journey of, to 
Illinois, I ID 

PYanklin, Benjamin, visits Bartram's 
garden, 64 ; autobiography of, 66; 
proposes subscription library, 66 

Freighting on the plains, 207, 208* ; 
magnitude of traffic, 210 ; charges 
for transporting goods, 211 

Fulton, Robert, builds Clermont, 
229; at Pittsburgh, 243 



INDEX 



305 



Furniture, primitive, 20, 31, 32, 43*, 

68, 1 14, 1 17, 120, 144 
P"ur traders, 93, 217 

Gallatin, Albert, conceives National 
Road, 163 

Gold, discovery of, 187, 191 ; pro- 
posal to exhibit, by P. T. Barnum, 

195 

Grant, General U. S., helps builders 
of first transcontinental railroad, 
2S8 

Great Lakes, 98, 213; first sailing 
vessel on, 213; steamboats on, 
236, 239* 

Griffon, building ofthe, 2 1 5*; launch- 
ing of, 217; loss of, 219 

Hardships of pioneers, 8-13, 47, 69, 
73. 94, 95' I05' 116-120, 176 

Hennepin, Father, 214, 215, 219 

Holliday, Ben, the most famous of 
the freighters, 212 

Houses of colonists : cellar-house, 
17, iS*; Talcott's, iS; Whitman's, 
21; Mantion House, 23; Whit- 
ing's, 23; Dustin's, 45, 46*; Le- 
titia Penn's, 57* 

Houston, Sam, president of Texas, 
127; portrait of, 12S*; house of, 
130; described, 131 

Hudson, Henry, model of ship of, 6* 

Hudson Bay, 99 

Huron, Lake, 99, 213 

Illinois, immigrant's journey to, no; 
pioneer life in, 116; start of Don- 
ner party from Springfield, 170. 
Cities in Illinois : Albion, begin- 
ning of, 115; Chicago, 117 

Immigration, to Indiana, iio; to Il- 
linois, no; to Ohio, 141 ; by Erie 
Canal, 155; to California, 169; 
number of immigrants crossing 
plains, 207, 208 

Impressions of America, first, 7, 10, 
II, 24, 25,27, 52, 54, 59 

Indiana: Princeton, 114; canals in 
Indiana, 155; Indianapolis, 164, 
167 



Indians, friendliness of, 13 ; fear of, 
14; village of, 14*; fortifications 
against, 15, 16, 50, 115; Winthrop's 
adventure with, 15; explorer's 
visit to cacique, 26 ; on guard 
against, 36, 37 ; Hannah Dustin's 
adventures with, 45 ; instructions 
for garrison keeper, 50; described 
by William Penn, 54, 55, 56, 59 ; 
escape of John Bartram from, 62 ; 
Brainerd preaches to, 72*; Jona- 
than Edwards among, 73; instruct 
colonists in whaling, 85 ; fur trad- 
ers' escape from, 95 ; goods for 
barter with, lor ; friendly Sho- 
shones, 102 ; Lewis and Clark's 
treatment of, 102 ; in republic of 
Texas, 129; immigrants killed by, 
169; Donner's Indian guide, 179; 
and overland freighters, 211; help 
La Salle, 215; hinder La Salle, 
216; and the steamboat, 238, 248; 
and Union Pacific Railroad, 287, 
2S8 

Islands, floating, 121 

Jefferson, Thomas, 41*, 102, 163 

Kansas: Atchison, 212 
Kentucky : Louisville, 244, 248 

Lafayette, Marquis de, invited to 
use library, 70 ; Washington's 
letter to, 147 

La Salle, 214, 218, 219 

Leonard, Zenas, fur trader, at Santa 
Fe, 94; escapes from Indians, 95; 
reaches San Francisco, 96 

Lewis and Clark, explorations of, 
100, lOI* 

Library, first in America, 66 ; used 
as hospital by the British, 69 

Livingston, Chancellor, Fulton's 
partner, 231 ; at Pittsburgh, 243 

Locomotives : early calculation of 
power of, 251; Stourbridge Lion, 
257; Tom Thumb, 260*; De Witt 
Clinton, 264* ; Best Friend of 
Charleston, 265 ; " Old Ironsides," 
270*; Traveler, 272*; York, 272*; 



Jo6 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 



John Bull, 277*; Atlantic, 2S0*; 
Costell, 281* 

Long Island, 13; whale fishing on, 
86 

Louisiana, description of. 104 ; settle- 
ments in, 104, 105; the Cabildo, 
loS*. Cities in Louisiana : New 
Orleans in 1803, 106*; Shreve- 
port, 125 

Mail, slow transportation of, 103, 
in; from Philadelphia to Lan- 
caster, 136; on National Road, 
167; the Pony Express, 196; 
postage charge to California, 197; 
portage by Pony Express, 198 

Maryland : governor of Maryland 
gives reward to Hannah Dustin, 
50; Cumberland, 163 

Massachusetts, 3, 9, 10; schoolgirl, 
in, 82. Cities in Massachusetts : 
Boston, 9, 15, 19, 32; Roxbury, 15, 
16; Hingham, 37; Dorchester, 40; 
Haverhill, 46 ; Worcester, 47 ; 
Nantucket, 90, 91 

Michigan : Detroit, 224, 238 

Michigan, Lake, 99, 217 

Mississippi : Natchez, 244, 249 

Mississippi River, 100, 102, 105, 106, 
164. 253 

Missouri: St. Louis, 93, 107, 167; 
St. Joseph, 197 

Missouri River, 99, 102, 208; Lewis 

, and Clark on, 101*; starting point 
of freighters for California, 209 

Moll, H., map of North America 
by, 98 

Money, substitutes for: tobacco, 35; 
wheat, 35, 69; quinine, 192 

Morse, Samuel F. B., inventor of 
the electric telegraph, 290 

Mozeemlek Country, 100 

National Road, purpose of, 1 62 ; pro- 
vision for, 163 ; first contracts for, 
164; progress of, 164; graded to 
Vandalia, Illinois, 165 ; one of the 
massive bridges on, 165*; total 
expenditure for, 165; success of, 
166, 168 ; relics of, 167 



Nebraska: Fort Kearney, 207, 209 

New Hampshire : Portsmouth, 36 ; 
Dover, 37 

New Jersey : roads in New Jersey, 
142; Burlington, 226, 227 

New Orleans, the, first Ohio River 
steamboat, 243*; completes voy- 
age, 249 

New York: Albany, 31, 34, 229, 231, 
233; Kingston, 34, 35; New York 
City, 36, 250, 251, 252, 253; Sche- 
nectady, 36; Herkimer, 37; Tarry- 
town, 37 ; Saratoga Springs, 84 ; 
Buffalo, 155, 240 

Niagara Falls, 213, 214, 216* 

Occupations of pioneers, 45, 59, 60, 
73,85, 93, 116 

Ohio, canals in, I 55. Cities in Ohio: 
Cincinnati, 1 12, 244. 246; Warren, 
141; Steubenville, 163; Columbus, 
164; Cleveland, 237 

Ohio River, 102, no, 164, 165, 
242 

Ontario, Lake, 62, 215 

Oregon, 100 

Overland transportation : length of 
trip by Pony Express, 197 ; length 
of trip by stage, 197; freighting 
on plains, 207 ; length of trip to 
Denver, 208 ; speed of stage and 
freighter compared, 209 ; first 
transcontinental railroad, 283 ; ori- 
gin of name, " the overland route," 
284 

Parents honored by daughters, 71, 

78, 80, 82, 84 
Patowmack Company, the, advertise- 
ment for stock subscriptions, i 50 ; 
builds canal, 151, 152 
Peale, Rembrandt, letter of, about 

John Fitch's steamboat. 225 
Penn, John, gift to library, 67 
Penn, Letitia, house of, 57* 
Penn, William, letter of, describing 
Pennsylvania, 52 ; type of his ship. 
Welcome, 53* ; treaty of, with 
Indians, 54*; Indians described 
by, 55; desk of, 68* 



INDEX 



307 



Pennsylvania, Penn's letter describ- 
ing, 52; canals in, 155. Cities in 
Pennsylvania: Philadelphia, 19, 
35, 37, 60, 64, 226, 251, 252, 269, 
271, 275; Radnor, 29, 30; Pitts- 
burgh, no, III, 243, 244, 245, 
246; Uniontown, 163; Washing- 
ton, 163 

Pilgrims, company of the, 4*; going 
to church, 33* 

Pioneers, hardships of, 8-13, 47, 69, 
73^ 94' 95' i°5' '^6, 120, 176; sup- 
plies for, 12; occupations of, 45, 
59, 60, 73' 85' 93' 116 

Pony Express, post schedule of, 
197 ; speed of, 198; rider of, 199*; 
cost of, 200 ; results of, 200 

Preacher, a pioneer, 119 

Quinine used to buy gold, 192 

Railroad, that was not built, 252; 
on stilts, 254; Delaware and Hud- 
son, 256; Baltimore and Ohio, 
tests Tom Thumb, 260; Charleston 
and Hamburg, 263 ; horse-power 
railroads, 263 ; experiment in sail 
power, 264 ; bride responsible for 
Erie, 267 ; Camden and Amboy, 
270; uniform gauge in (incon- 
veniences caused by lack of, 277 ; 
opposition to, 279 ; adoption of, 
280); first transcontinental (build- 
ing of, 283 ; difficulties of con- 
struction of, 286) 

Red River raft, described, 122 ; for- 
mation of, 122; removal of, 125 

Roads: pioneer roads, 112; blazed 
roads, 113; Lancaster Pike, 134, 
135; New Jersey roads, 142; 
National Road, 161 

Roosevelt, Nicholas, studies Ohio 
River currents, 243 ; Mrs. Roose- 
velt's account of his trip, 244 

Koutes taken by pioneers : Zenas 
Leonard, 93 ; Lewis and Clark, 
100; Elias Pym Fordham, no; 
A. H. Conant, 1 16 

St. Lawrence River, 99, 213, 224 
Sampler of Clarissa Emerson, Si* 



School, boys in, 38 ; description of 
early, 38, 42 ; going to, 38 ; tuition, 
38; heating, 39; length of session, 
40 ; rules for schoolmaster, 40, 4 1 ; 
Thomas Jefferson's, 41*; taxation 
for, 42 ; girls in, 43 ; hornbook, 43 ; 
interior of colonial, 43* ; New Eng- 
land Primer, 43 

Schoolgirl, a colonial, 80 

Servants, thieving, 8, 151 

Shreve, Captain, destroys Red River 
^ raft, 125 

Slaves in church, 30, 31 

South Carolina charters first steam 
railroad, 263 

Steamboats : Fitch's first steamboat, 
222*; third steamboat, 226*; regu- 
lar trips announced, 227; the Cler- 
mont, 229, 233*; Fulton's first 
experiment, 230* ; later Hudson 
River boats, 232 ; life on a Hud- 
son River boat, 232; the Walk-in- 
the-Water, 236, 239* ; the New 
Orleans, 243*, 245 

Stoves, foot, in church, 30, 31 ; heat- 
ing, in church, 31 ; in school, 39 

Success (ship), 9 

Superior, Lake, 99 

Talbot (ship), 9 

Taverns, primitive, in, 113, 134, 
142, 143, 144 

Taxes, for fortifications, 16; for 
schools, 42 

Telegraph, Morse's first experi- 
ments, 290, 291 ; prophesied, 290 ; 
recording instrument, 291*; ap- 
propriation for trial line, 292 ; 
patent issued, 292 ; first message, 
293 ; rapid growth, 294 

Telephone, result of an accident, 
295; first experiment, 296; patent 
granted, 297 ; how it came to be 
exhibited at Philadelphia Centen- 
nial, 298 ; marvelous development, 
301 ; the first prospectus, 301 

Texas, early history of, 127. Cities 
in Texas: Galveston, 128; Hous- 
ton, 128, 129; Indianola, 202; El 
Paso, 204 ; San Antonio, 204 



3o8 REAL STORIES FROM OUR HISTORY 



Tobacco used as currency, 35 

Town building, 16, 52 

Transportation by land (vehicles, 
etc. used) : horse, 74, 75*, 93, 112; 
phaeton and light wagon, iio; 
Conestoga wagon described, 1 1 1*, 
139*; movers' wagon, 170, 171*; 
mail coach, 163*, 166; ponies, 197. 
199* ; camel, 203*, 204 ; railway 
train, 257, 259*, 262, 264*, 266*, 
269, 273* 276, 277* 283 

Transportation by water (vehicles, 
etc. used) : ship, 3, 53*, 91*, 213 ; 
canoe, 48 ; whale ship and boats, 
86*, 87, 90*, 91 ; boats, loi*; flat- 
boat, 112, 113*, 242; skiff, 112; 
canal boats, 154, 156*; steamboat, 
222*, 225, 226*, 227, 229, 233*, 
236, 239*, 243*, 247*; barge, 242; 
keel boat, 242 

Travel : coming to the colonies, 3 ; 
Carolina explorers, 24 ; travels of 
Hannah Dustin, 47 ; travels of 
John Bartram. 62 ; Esther Ed- 
wards' horseback journey, 74, 75*; 
the Lewis and Clark expedition, 
100; immigrants journey to Illi- 
nois, no; Audubon's journey to 
Texas, 127; accidents of travel, 
134. 13s; rates of fare, 137, 138, 
155, 197, 234; Margaret Dwight's 
trip to Ohio, 141 ; by canal, 157, 
159, 160; the Donner trip to Cali- 
fornia, 169 ; Beale's route, San 
Francisco to Washington, 192 ; 
Pony Express route, 197; camels 
in the desert, 202 ; route of 
freighters, 208 ; route to avoid 
Niagara, 213; first trip of steam- 
boat on the Delaware. 225 ; first 
trip of steamboat on the Hudson, 
229; first trip of steamboat on the 
Great Lakes, 237 ; first trip of 
steamboat on the Ohio, 245 



Utah Territory, slow mail to, in 1858, 
196 

Van Buren, Martin, rapid transpor- 
tation of his message, 167 

Vanderbilt, Cornelius, owner of 
steamboats, 233 

Virginia, 98, 147. Cities in Virginia : 
Alexandria, 150; Matildaville, 

Visions of the future, Zenas Leon- 
ard's, on Pacific coast, 96; of 
Louisiana territory, 109; of Red 
River country, 126; George Wash- 
ington's, 148; La Salle's, 214; 
Hennepin's, 219; Fitch's, 220, 
228; early railroad, 252. 262 

Walk-in-the- Water, naming of, 236 ; 

first trip of, 237 ; picture of, 239 ; 

wreck of, 240 
Washington, George, visits Bar- 
tram's garden, 64 ; thanks library, 

68 ; invited to use library, 70 ; 

canal builder, 147; coach of, 152*; 

signs Fitch's steamboat patent, 

227 
Webster, Daniel, wins freedom of 

Hudson River, 234 
West Virginia : Wheeling, 163, 164, 

167 ; Elm Grove, 164 
Whale-fishing : on the lookout for 

whales, 87, 88 ; extent of, 89 ; 

Nantucket's part in, 90; decline 

of, 92 
Whaler, first deep-sea voyage of, 88 ; 

first to take Stars and Stripes into 

English port, 92 
Wheat used as currency, 35, 69 
Wills and legacies, 19, 20 
Winthrop, John, 3, 5, 6, 10, 15, 16; 

portrait, 11 ; letters of, 11, 12, 

13 
Wisconsin: Milwaukee, 219 



5tt7?-X 



